Hatching season

[love2grinchicke]

I need some clarity about this. So, I've heard that the best season to hatch is the spring, because they lay by fall. Hatching in winter/fall however is not so good, because they start laying, and then molt. But wouldn't spring chicks molt sooner, and not lay as much?

My question is:


Is fall a good time to be hatching eggs, or should I hide the incubator until spring?

 

[SA Farm]

It totally depends on your preference. Some places hatch in the fall/early winter and raise them up over winter to sell as ready-to-lays in the spring, but they have to be inside with a heat lamp for most of the winter since they'll be too young to acclimatize. Which is why most people hatch in the spring since the chicks will be laying in the fall and they can live outside as they'll be old enough to handle the winter - more cost effective.
So, it all depends on your setup, your overhead, and when you want to have layers.

 

[love2grinchicke]

And it is also true that more eggs will be fertile in spring? since the roosters are more active?

 

[SA Farm]

Not necessarily. It would depend on the rooster.

 

[red horse ranch]

And it is also true that more eggs will be fertile in spring? since the roosters are more active?

I usually have my first hatch by Jan 1st. Between the incubator and the brood hens, I may have babies until September. Winter chicks cost more to raise because of the extra heat they require but they are ready-to-lay hens in April and May. They will not molt the coming fall.
It's true that roosters and hens aren't as fertile in the winter but young roos and hens will still mate if they can.
Molting usually occurs when the chickens are around 18 months old. After that they will molt every late summer or fall. None of them are fertile and most will not mate while molting.

 

[ChickenLegs13]

The way I see it, any chicks I hatch out in the fall, half of them will be roosters that I have to feed all winter while free range is sparse.
I'd rather hatch chicks in the spring so that by winter they're either laying eggs or going on the oven.