Hi Everyone I'm Chris

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DIYCHRIS

DIYCHRIS

Chirping
8 Years
Mar 2, 2015
20
6
84
Hi everyone I'm Chris, I am new to the forum and this site looked a good site to turn to for some advice. I live in the midlands in England and I've been gardening now for a few years and love to produce my own veg. As I'm a keen gardener I've been thinking about it and decided that Chickens would be a good addition to my garden not only for the compost they produce but fresh free range eggs are always available as well. My idea is to order eggs to hatch myself in an incubator as it seems the most cost effective way. Id like to take a few birds for the freezer once in a while but I'm not sure what the best way to go about it would be. If I keep a few birds back to lay eggs how would I be able to introduce new birds into the group? Would I be able to introduce eggs that I've incubated a few days before there ready to hatch to one of my hens for instance or would I be OK just to put the chicks in with the hens? I have no idea how to go about this as I've never even known anyone who keeps them. Before I even think about ordering any eggs or setting up a coop I want to make sure I know what the plan is. The type of chicken I think would suit my needs is supposed to be a good meat bird and egg layer and is called Buff Orpington. Any advice anyone can offer would help a lot
 
Hi :welcome

Glad you could join the flock! If you are going to be incubating eggs I would reccomend giving this link a good read https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101
Hatching your own eggs will mean you will have to wait for your eggs untill they start laying. For a hen to accept chicks it would have to be broody just putting some eggs in with hens that are near hatch wouldn't work. The eggs need to be sat on by a hen to keep them at the correct temperature and humidty so they can hatch. Once your chicks have hatched in the incubator they need to be brooded in a secure draft free box with a heat source so they are 95f under the lamp or heat plate which ever you use. This section of the learnng centre has excellent articles on hatching and raising https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-and-raising-chicks
Small chicks and grown hens can't be added together untill the chicks are fully grown. The hens could kill the small chicks. Chicks need heat for at least 6 weeks or untill they are fully feathered.

Good luck hope you enjoy BYC :frow
 
Hello
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and Welcome to BYC!
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Glad to have you join! Feel free to make yourself at home and ask all the questions you have. Yorkshire Coop has given you great advice!
 
The easiest way would be to choose a couple from a breed known for broodiness such as silkies and keep them specifically for hatching. When you want some new chicks you wait till they go broody (sit constantly on the nest) then slip some fertile eggs you want hatched underneath. The hen will do all the work of incubating. If you incubate them yourself you still need the hen to be broody anyway to slip them under at the end. Using a hen bypasses all the work afterwards and she will protect them so they can be put with the main flock a lot earlier There is a thread on broody hatching here somewhere worth a read.
 
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Welcome to BYC!
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I'm glad you joined our community.

You've received some good advice already. Basically, if you have a broody hen that wants to set on eggs, you can put eggs beneath her and let her hatch them. When they hatch, she will protect them and it will be easier to introduce them into the flock. However, if you don't have a broody hen, you will have to wait until the chicks are at least 8 weeks old (and about the same size as the older birds) before introducing them into the established flock. Older hens, if they are not broody, will attack young chicks.
 

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