How late in the season do you hatch till? Or do you never stop??

[funfeatheredfeet]

Hmmmmm.....you all have me thinking about this incubating. It's very interesting, your opinions on why or why not to inc. later in the year. I like the idea of layers in Jan and Feb. rather than waiting for spring chicks to mature. I'm gonna have to think on that one. I do have to ask all of you that are obsessed with hatching, What do you do with all the chicks? Are you able to sell them. I am currently incubating 22 eggs and have another 20 ready for the next inc. but I get a little nervous thinking...what if I don't get rid of some of them...I'm gonna have to build on!!! Yiee!! Tell me what you all do. I could literally incubate all the time....my girlfriend isn't helping, she just gave me 3 of her incubators!! Yipeeee!!

 

[Backyard Farm]

Any chicks I hatch late summer are for me... not for selling. ... Unless someone has specifically asked for chicks. The following Spring, I select from the ones I have hatched in the Fall and sell the ones I don't want for breeding locally as "ready to lay". I am quite sure I don't make money on these birds ... hope to break even. ...but better than hatching in the Spring for me and trying to sell the ones I dont want in the Fall.. when very few people are thinking of building pens and starting a "chicken" project.

 

[funfeatheredfeet]

Ahhh...thanks for the tip. That's a great way to get a new group of chickens for the start of the year and like you say they are ready to lay. And, bet the "ready to lay" makes them quite easy to sell. Thanks sooo much!

 

[ADozenGirlz]

Quote:
"Sensible"?!

We "chronic hatchers" do not play by sensible people's standards (ordinarily). I, however, will NEVER hatch so late as to have to keep chickens in my unfinished basement EVER AGAIN. I had 3 sets of chicks down there from January through May and it was a dust-ridden horror show. Never again. I'll stop hatching in about 4 weeks so that the babies are old enough to get out into the coop before it begins to get too cold this autumn. Of course, there's always hatching for OTHER people, in which case, the dust is not MY problem!

 

[funfeatheredfeet]

hahaheehahha, that's funny, but sooo true. I had new chicks in my spare bathroom just for a week and ugh!!!! couldn't stand it, will never have them in the house. No matter how many times I cleaned up after them.....ugh, they were the messiest little things. Now, hahah, I use my husbands work shed just off the carport.....hhahahhahee, he said I could, he just doesn't realize how chicks can be, wait till he finds out! hahhahaa and I am constantly cleaning up after them, never expected them to make such a mess so quickly. Just Gotta Love Em!

 

[Elite Silkies]

Quote:
The Aussie are a great breed. I changed my breeding pen a little and put my Lav orp Roo in with the girls, so I can breed for the Lav Aussie.

 

[Backyard Farm]

yes, "ready to lay" has a nice ring to it in early Spring!!

 

[Lesalynn]

Here in Louisiana, our climate is a tad warm

, so we are able to go a while before we get any cold weather....Works out great for the chickies. As to what do we do with them all??? Well, I plan to select the best of the best for future breeding, and just plain old egg-laying abilities. We love the fresh eggs here, and so do a lot of other people. Put a few signs up, and have a hard time keeping up with the orders. We also take the culled roosters and certain hens, and slaughter about 9 wks of age because, well, I love fresh chicken in the frying pan. Especially when I know for certain what condition that bird was raised in, it's diet, etc. I don't have to worry about any of that if I raise them myself. Anyway, it works for us here, there is very little actual foods bought from the grocery store by us, lol. Grow it in the garden, raise and slaughter, or go hunting.....

 

[A.T. Hagan]

The lot in the box that will hatch this weekend is the last for me until about mid-August. Have travel obligations upcoming that makes further hatching more complicated than I want to deal with.

 

[Backyard Farm]

Yes, I find it "challenging" to coordinate vacations and other fun activities with hatching schedules