How many of you hatch your eggs and raise the chicks yourself or let the hens do all the work? I plan on doing both methods just to experiance it when my chicks start laying which will be awhile lol. Is it easier to do it yourself or let mamma hen do it?
I hatch and raise them myself. My two hens who go broody insist on doing it according to their schedule, not mine.
I've have had my birds for 8 months and my adult birds have yet to go broody. I would rather my chicks be raised by a mama bird, but so far no mamas So I'm raising them myself. The little fuzzy butts are just so cute to not raise
I usually raise them myself. It's easy to keep an eye on them, and it's too cute having them cheeping inside the house at night.
Overall I would say it is hands down easier to let mama hen do it, but they will only do it when they're broody and even having broody breeds doesn't guarantee you a broody hen. I had chooks for several years before I finally had one go broody last year - and she was a breed that is unlikely to brood, so go figure. Now that its Spring I'm keeping my fingers crossed she or another will think about brooding again - I'd give them some of the eggs that are currently in my incubator if they did, but so far none of them are showing any signs they're considering it.
I do a mix. We used to have a silkie named Oprah. She got broody at the drop of a hat, over even duck eggs. She would also try to steal other babies. Even if they were not chicken. So if I have one who is a super momma, I let them raise most anything they want. The big girls I do not. We have a Australorpe who is actually a very good momma, but she is also a egg machine. If I keep anything from the EE, Production, or Wynadotte pens, we either eat them or raise them ourselves.
