Extreme beginner advice please

[Joev1973]

Ok I am fairly new to chickens. I had 4 buff o hens back in Ohio now have 20 six week old chicks and 8 guinea's.

I have NEVER touched an incubator before and the only hatching experience I have was sticking fertile eggs from a friend under my broody buff O who hatched them.

Here is what I am looking to do and I would like you guys to tell me the way to go

So for a hobby my wife and I have decided to pick a breed and hatch eggs from only that breed.

I wanted to get some Bielefelder hens to go with my big beautiful free rooster i received as a free chick with my order but the chicks are sold out for the season from my hatchery.

Also I saw a stunning photograph of a chicken i have never seen before and my wife wants to hatch those. (Gold sebrights)

I have lots of heavy breeds out back and i find these beautiful.

They are small and I could easily seperate a pair and would enjoy raising them.

I checked the hatchery (several) and to buy golden laced Sebrights you have to order a minimum of 15. Not to mention they are currently unavailable at my favorite reputable hatcheries.

So I was thinking instead of buying 15 Sebrights (which only come straight run) just to get a breeding pair maybe I could hatch a few in an incubator with eggs I can get online.


I know from reading alot can go wrong hatching in an incubator. And im not looking to spend hundreds of dollars on an incubator i would use a couple times at the most. Heck next spring i will have a dozen buff O's that would be happy to sit on eggs for me. And that's an option im seriously considering.

If i bought a $75 range incubator from Amazon or through my hatchery (murry mcmurray) would it be feasible to buy say 6 or 8 fertile eggs and just hatch them ourselves in order to get a breeding pair

How hard is it to hatch eggs with an incubator and is this a better option than buying 15 birds i dont want.

What's your opinions on the cheaper model incubators? Have any suggestions for a brand? I would want to try to hatch say 8 eggs give or take a few.

What also needs to be purchased in order to incubate eggs?

What else do I need to know before I try this?

Is a broody buff O a better option?

Any advice welcome.

 

[Shadrach]

If you're serious and are taking a long term view of wanting to breed a particular type of chicken then the first thing is not to buy eggs, or chicks from a hatchery.
Take your time, decide on the breed you want and look for an adult pair, preferably over 4 years old that you can see in their current environment and check for health issues.
I'm not a fan of the incubator addicts club. A good broody hen performs far better in just about every respect apart form convenience.
Of course others will come along and tell you the fowl from hatcheries are fine. Do a bit of research on how the hatcheries operate and where they source their eggs from and you will soon understand that the likelihood of getting a decent genetics is very very low.
Breeding good stock is a long term project if done correctly.

 

[AquaDuck]

X2 for not getting hatchery chicks if you want to seriously breed. Especially a breed like Sebright that has a particular color pattern and is a show-chicken. I've had sub-standard wyandottes and other laced breeds, and they're not nearly as pretty as the exhibition pictures you see online. If you take the time to buy adults, you see exactly what you get. That way you also get unrelated birds.

 

[Joev1973]

So don't I have a better chance of finding better genetics from hatching eggs from a private breeder?

That would mean incubation. Also I wonder how long fertile eggs would be good should I choose to use a broody hen and had to wait for her...geeze i have alot to learn

 

[bhaugh]

I agree with what was said. Birds from a good breeder will far excel a hatchery bird.
If you in this game to breed a good bird buy a decent incubator. They run about 250-400 or so. I have an Rcom that is pretty much automatic. Put the water in, set the temp and go.
Although I started with a hovabator and glad I did because it taught me alot about hatching. I still use it for duck and quail eggs.
The only way to know if your goung to like it is to give it a shot. My philosophy on raising birds is to just do it and learn a long the way. We can tell you what it's about but the only way to really know is to just take the leap and go!

 

[kissezmychicken]

Ive had perfect hatches with my cheap incubator.. HavaBator.. I think it was $150 with the turner.. Ive never ever had humidity issues ir temp fluxes.. Ive got 3 of the same and all have been great.. Unless you want to be a professional hatcher,, which it sounds like you want to have your hens take over eventually.. I just dont think an expensive brand is necessary.. I've also had bad luck with breeders as far as quality.. Its a crap shoot.. Good luck..