Hatching Eggs VS Day Old Chicks

[Lynzi777]

I have been checking CL daily. I've done some searches for just silkies too and came across some ads. Still waiting for people to get back to me. :-(

 

[SkyeSchazade]

Don't know if you have tried checking the breed or region specific forums here or not. Someone in there might know of a good breeder in your area!

 

[mom29]

I have been checking CL daily. I've done some searches for just silkies too and came across some ads. Still waiting for people to get back to me. :-(

If someone were to get into the hobby of raising chickens would you suggest they start by hatching eggs or raising chicks from a day or more old? I'm going to be doing this with our 6 yr old son. And I worry about ordering eggs - how many will actually hatch? But I've also read that when ordering day old chicks thru online, some don't make the trip. We only want to start out raising between 4-6. If we decide to add more it may not be till the following year. And I realize when ordering eggs it's usually by the hald dozen or more - in which case if I ordered a dozen I would find homes for the "extra chicks". Whats the best advice for starting out?

We started with 4 from my SIL and ended up getting a few more from our local feed store just to see if we wanted to continue now that we LOVE

our chickens we get them through our 4-H advisor who raises her own.. Maybe try to get a hold of a local club and see if they know of anyone who breeds and sells and if you LOVE

it you may be able to get fertile eggs later..