I am thinking about getting some eggs and putting them in the incubator and selling the chicks. Is it hard to sell the chicks? Never done this before so I was wondering how to do it is it easy or hard? what are the steps i need to take to get the most eggs to hatch as possible any ideas or advice I would appreciate it thank you.
Selling chicks shouldn't be too difficult. Make sure you hatch pure breeds though, as they will be easier to sell than mixed breeds. Also look around to see which breeds are very popular, like Easter Eggers for example and if you can find hatching eggs from show quality breeding stock even better. Incubating and hatching eggs is not very difficult, provided you have proper equipment and sticks to the guidelines. First of all make sure your incubator works as it should. Let it run at least 24 hours and keep an eye on the temperature and humidity. If those 2 are not correct it could ruin your hatch. Too high temperatures cause early hatches, can cause foot and leg problems and even kill your embryos, too low can delay your hatch and produce weaker chicks. Your eggs should be as fresh as possible for the most successful hatch. Preferably not older than 7 days. Use only clean, well shaped eggs, no weird shaped shells or porous eggs (they can be very tricky to hatch). Look for intact shells, intact air sacs (not always a guarantee with shipped eggs, but you can work around that). Keep your temperature correct and stable, no highs and lows and keep your humidity correct at all times. Turn the eggs minimum 3 times a day, more is better, and you should be successful. Here's an excellent article with loads of good tips on incubating, managing air sac damage, how to get the most out of shipped eggs etc: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101 Good luck with your hatch(es) and keep us posted!
If anyone wants to incubate chicks or any bird egg for yourself and raise them you should buy the "Hova Bator - Genesis Egg Incubator - 1588" I've had it for 5 years it's 160$ but it's AMAZING!! it can hold 48 chicken eggs with the automatic egg turner and little more then 60 eggs with egg cartons in the incubator and it stays at a constant 99.5 degrees so all you do is add water for moisture and eggs! the hatching rate is REALLY high! .... Google this incubator and you'll find it
