breeding/hatching?

[abhaya]

I am new to raising chickens and have never done any breeding. I finally have a roo he is good natured and a looker to boot.

I am just looking to not have to keep buying chicks every year to keep the flock young and laying.

right now I have 1 roo to 6 girls 1 laying 5 really close to starting to lay. I also have 5 chicks I think 1 is male. My silkies are seperate.

Do I ust let nature take its course or what do I need to do? I do not have a bator and really would ust prefer to let the hens go broody.

 

[TheFarmMama]

If you don't want to collect and incubate yourself then just let the hens do what nature intended and let them hatch the chicks on their own. Keep in mind though that not every hen (or any at all sometimes) will go broody so you may have to get another hen specifically for that purpose or else hatch them yourself. Good luck and welcome to the wonderful world of chickens!

 

[lemurchaser]

Those silkies will be perfect incubators for you. They go broody so easily. If your other chickens are of breeds that don't go broody, you may have to set up the silkies with eggs from the others.

 

[Mahonri]

Quote:
That's what I do.

It's why I have two bators... no silkies at this time...

 

[can you hear me now?]

Not wanting to hatch them myself this year is why I bought silkies. They go broody so often set them up with eggs