I'm stuck.

[chicken boy sam]

I WAS going to build an incubator for my 4-H project, but now I'm debating it because my parents said that I couldn't hatch any eggs. Do you think I could just do a poster about incubating eggs, or would that not be enough. It was going to end up costing about $20 to build it, and I don't want to waste that money on something I can't even use. If my parents said that I could hatch eggs, then I could just buy the chick-bator for a lot less. What should I do???????

 

[UGAchick]

Do you think that if you found someone to give the eggs to your parents would let you hatch them? I think it would be a cool project. Is it that they don't want any more chickens?

 

[sequoiacyclist]

I bet there would be a ton of people in your area willing to take newly hatched chicks from you. Just post them on BYC!

 

[chicken boy sam]

Good point....people would take them.... the only problem is that my mom said that I can't have any roosters even though they are legal. Maybe I could learn how to vent sex!!!!!! The only reason she says this is because we got "sexed" chicks, but they were straight run and we had 10 roosters out of 16!!!!!!!!! I could also get sex linked chicks.

 

[sequoiacyclist]

Oh, well even if you couldn't tell them apart as day-olds you would definitely be able to before the roos start crowing. Most roos start to look different within a month or two, and if you are still not comfortable with it you can always post pictures of them on here and we'd help you out with telling who is who.

 

[hoppy]

who says you even have to keep them until they crow. post them on craigslist for $1 each as day olds or free if your worried about having to keep them.
get some donated eggs or offer to hatch for someone else with the idea they know it's a test run.

 

[Kedreeva]

If you want to convince the rents to let you hatch things, the way I used to do it was to get all the stuff for what I wanted to do, start it, and tell them afterward. It was typically easier to ask forgiveness than permission (although this isn't the best advice if you want to stay on their good side). Although you are working with something alive, so it would be best if you secured homes for your chickies before you even think about getting eggs. And Hoppy is right, you can probably find someone to donate hatching eggs in your area or send them to you if you just pay shipping, or find someone willing to let you hatch some for them and give the chickens back. Surely there's someone in your area if you look on Craigslist or check with neighbors or post to the wanted section of this site.

You could also pull the 'food' card. Roosters make tasty dinner, if nothing else.

 

[Country_Gal@Heart]

What about getting eggs of a breed that is sex-linked? For example, if you were to get eggs for Welsummers, you could tell right as they hatch if they are roos or hens due to the markings on their heads.

 

[darkmatter]

Quote:
Most people think I'm not the person to ask advise for in raising kids, LOL. I let my kids do whatever they wanted with only suggestions and advise for dealing with the consequences. (no I'm not up to adopting any more kids) My kids turned out okay, my advise would have been "go ahead with your original plan, build the incubator, hatch eggs, deal with the chicks as you see fit" "think out what you need for now and later"

 

[chicken boy sam]

Country_Gal@Heart :

What about getting eggs of a breed that is sex-linked? For example, if you were to get eggs for Welsummers, you could tell right as they hatch if they are roos or hens due to the markings on their heads.

What are the markings on the hens head and the roos head?​