Incubating Eggs vs Mail ordering Day Old Chicks

[solomine]

Hi everyone! I just want to get your opinions or hear stories about your experiences raising chicks you've hatched yourselves versus chicks from hatcheries (chicks not socialized with humans right at birth; unlike some breeders who incubate them as well).

I'm raising chickens as pets and I'm looking to replace a few that have died along with a possible roo.

I'm wondering if it's better to incubate the eggs myself so that I'll only have to hatch a few chicks. I will be able to get rarer, prettier colors and great quality birds (as well as have a lot of fun).

If I order from a hatchery, I'm (almost) guaranteed all pullets, but I will still have to order at least five (bantams), which is two too many.

Also, I've read in a few threads that people who have socialized their chickens since and at birth (acting the mother hen while it's hatching) have had tamer chickens.

What do you guys think?

 

[sumatra lover]

We personally never ordered chicks. I've heard great things about the Meyer hatchery, but we just decided to try out incubating eggs. My husband purchased our incubator at tractor supply and at the time they were on sale for about 45 dollars without the egg turner. We felt we didn't need to buy one so we just rotated our eggs twice a day every day until the last few days of the 21 it takes. All but about 4 eggs didn't hatch and it was amazing the last few days you got to see the eggs wabble and see them pecking out. It's also amazing to hear them pecking their ways out of the eggs. Whenever they fully hatched I believe they stayed in the incubator for roughly 24 hours until they were dry and fuzzy and then went on to move them under the light(also purchased at tractor supply). They stayed under for around 3 weeks/ish, and by that time it was 80 degrees outside so we moved them to a hutch with straw. Now they are in our race with our coop flock. It's amazing to hatch your own eggs!! Also as this happened one of our hens became broody and hatched her own babies- and that's best

Some of the chicks when hatched in incubator.

Our first chick that hatched

When they were moved under the light.

When moved outside, they were pretty much almost fully feathered.