Hatching eggs vs day old chicks

[Akane]

Your more likely to get better quality birds ordering eggs from individuals. They generally are closer to standard and meet expectations better. The japanese bantam eggs I got from someone who got their stock at a hatchery are twice the size of my japs I got from someone else who didn't start with hatchery chicks. They also have slight differences in body shape. Sometimes the hatchery stock is as close to mutts as you can get without actually mixing in another breed. However the hatchery does want to keep around the birds that lay and are easy to hatch so if you are mostly concerned with eggs and not at all on looks hatchery chicks work out fine.

Hatching is still more fun though and it doesn't mean possibly killing some chicks with the shipping out to me. I'm off the beaten path in a northern climate so shipping is dangerous for chicks most of the year. It's easier to get eggs here in one piece than live chicks.

 

[chicken_dude]

I trust my most valuable hatching eggs to dark cornish game hens and aseels. They usually hatch a better percentage than an incubator. In addition if your electricity stays off for hours you will be screwed. They protect the chicks from small predators and allow the baby chicks to eat grass seeds and insects.

 

[epona4]

Quote:
So, if I find that one of my hens is a particularly good mother, then using her to hatch ordered eggs would work ok? I had thought of that, but for some reason I just figured it would not work that well.

Thanks

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
The catch is that if you are buying eggs and having them shipped, there is no assurance at all that the hen will still be sincerely broody when they arrive. Maybe, maybe not. So unless you have bunches of broodies at any one time, it'd be a gamble.

Pat

 

[Tailfeathers]

Quote:
Actually, I don't think I've ever seen a case where hatching eggs was more expensive that buying chicks unless you're mixing apples and oranges. You can't compare hatchery chicks for example with rare breed hatching eggs from a reputable breeder.

I sell my my potential SQ chicks for $6 plus shipping. Culls are $2-4. I sell my hatching eggs for $2 per egg or $36 per dozen and that includes shipping. Plus I usually throw in a couple of extra "insurance eggs".

So, hatching eggs is generally cheaper than buying chicks. Plus, some folks want to hatch their own eggs for the experience. Eggs are usually available sooner than chicks. You can see the egg color that you are hatching from and that is of concern with some folks who plan to breed for colored eggs. And one other advantage is that you oftentimes have to order 25 chicks if you want chicks where as you can order only a few hatching eggs if you want.

Hope that helps.

God Bless,

 

[Mahonri]

Ask me this on the 21st when I'm due to hatch.... let's see how many I get first.

 

[epona4]

Quote:
I think that was the catch...I was looking at eggs from Meyer. Since then I have found egg prices from breeders and they make more sense to me!

This year we're going to go with day olds from Meyer, then later in the year I will invest in an incubator. (as well as keeping my eyes open for broody hens!) And I will start putting out feelers for breeders of Dels, Bucks and Sussex.

Thanks for your thoughts on this.

 

[Tailfeathers]

Quote:
Well, I wish you all the best with your birds and truly hope you enjoy them but you might want to keep one more thing in mind. It costs the same to feed hatchery birds as it does birds from a breeder and the hatchery birds likely won't be near as nice looking as birds from a breeder.

I can't speak to those specific breeds but take a look at the Wyandottes that come from hatcheries for example compared to those from breeders. You might want to go to a local poultry show and look at the breeders birds first.

God Bless,

 

[pipermark]

If I can get chicks from the breeders that I am interested in I will always go with the sure thing. The problem is many of the breeders I like will only sell started birds or eggs. Normally I will then choose eggs , because started birds are so expensive to ship.

If I am just looking for birds for eggs I order chicks from my favorite hatchery IDEAL.