fertile eggs or chicks

[mrlacewing]

I have a Buff Orpington that seems to be becoming broody. I've been thinking about getting some chicks, but now I'm wondering if I should get fertile eggs instead. I'm fairly new at this. These are my first chickens and I've kept them alive since they were a few days old, so I've had some success.
I'm wondering how complicated the process of going the fertilized eggs route may be and if I'd be better off getting chicks and putting them under her.
thanks for any advice!
Dana

 

[farnorth]

I have a very broody Buff Orpinton Hen. She goes broody all the time. You'll know when she starts growling at you and won't leave the nest box.

I've done chicks before in the past and it worked out great. After her being broody for about a week I slipped chicks from the feed store under her in the middle of the night and she took them just fine. It was very cute to watch.

Today I am trying the other, fertile eggs I got from a couple people in my town. I'm not sure how this is gonna work out....first time trying eggs.

The main difference is if you buy chicks you can buy the breeds and sexes you want (I would assume pullets are what most people want).

With eggs you are going to get cockrels and pullets....you might even get mostly cockrels.

Breeds with locally bought fertile eggs are often mixed unless you find someone who separates their chickens by breeds. All I could find locally was mixed breed eggs.

You could order purebred eggs by mail but from what I am reading the eggs often get shaken up in shipping and the hatch rates are lower.

So if you want something specific I would get chicks. If you don't mind a mixture of sexes and breeds and finding homes or eating some cockrels then try fertile eggs if you can find them.