Is there advantages to incubating eggs

[Mamagirl3]

What advantages are there to incubate eggs instead of buying chix? AND if we order eggs from these hatcheries will it not be the same small chix we got as babies? If you purchase eggs from someone that doesnt sell chix how do you know their breeders didnt initially? come from hatcheries? I have had an experience with a nursery that all my breeds are much smaller than breed should be... should i try incubating eggs and where can i get eggs?
Thank you.

 

[kmpcfp]

Shipping is cheaper for eggs over chicks if you go that route. You have to do your research about the potential breeder and view their stock and reviews and realize that hatch rates can be hit or miss. If you are just looking for assorted layers, I managed to snag a few dozen assorted barnyard mixes for $5-10 a dozen the past couple years and got 90-100% hatch rates on those from local Facebook pages/groups. I just have a super basic homemade styrofoam cooler incubator from reused items. The only new thing I bought for it was a plug in reptile thermostat and a couple of thermometera. Plus if you want to hatch eggs from your own stock, it's handy to have an incubator when you don't have a broody.

 

[nuthatched]

I'm not sure if I understand what you're saying but anyway:

What advantages are there to incubate eggs instead of buying chix

You're often able to find rare colors or breeds that hatcheries don't carry and/or eggs are often cheaper than buying chicks but there's a bit of a gamble involved since eggs don't ship well. You also need to set at least twice as many eggs as females you want since about half the clutch will be males. You also need a plan for those extra males.

if we order eggs from these hatcheries will it not be the same small chix we got as babies?

I don't understand your question, but hatchery birds *tend* to be smaller than breed standards but it depends on the hatchery, some hatcheries do breed for the breed standard, you just have to look. Size also depends on early nutrition through the growing months.

If you purchase eggs from someone that doesnt sell chix how do you know their breeders didnt initially? come from hatcheries?

You ask them. Most people get their stock from hatcheries or other breeders. And by breeders, I mean someone who is breeding birds to the breeds' SOP from different sources, including good hatcheries, to improve their line; not someone who buys stock wherever they see it and just lets them do their thing without quality control.
A reputable breeder will have worked on their line for some time.

I have had an experience with a nursery that all my breeds are much smaller than breed should be... should i try incubating eggs and where can i get eggs?
Thank you.

If you want to incubate if you're serious about it, check breeders' clubs or ebay.
For the clubs, look up (for example) Wyandotte breeders club and look for a list of breeders and start looking for someone who has stock you like and is willing to ship eggs. Most people ship eggs since it's cheaper than chicks.

 

[sdm111]

You can always use brooding hens too. All I use.i have about 3 or 4 hens that they're only job is to hatch eggs and do great jobs. 100% hatch usually. Incubators are cool and neat for a while but nothings like doing it the way it was meant to be. As far as breeders. You can only go on the reputation of the breeder. Anyone can buy anything from anywhere and call it whatever they want. You can be sold chickens for 200.00 that their actual value is 10.00. With experience you will be able to tell good blood from junk. If possible always try to see the broodfowl in person before you buy eggs or chicks. Don't trust anybody's word

 

[SourRoses]

Hatching eggs make it possible to get good stock from further distances, from breeders who can't / won't ship or don't have the capacity to hatch enough to meet demand, and with less disease transmission.

You can also look here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/chicken-hatching-eggs.36/

Wherever you source eggs or chicks from, keep in mind that while most are good people, there are some bad actors out there, as well as some who simply don't know what they are doing. Even formerly good breeders can get burned out and stop caring. So check out reviews, especially recent ones, study their pictures and if you know how to use image search you can avoid some fakers.

A good place to check for reviews:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/chicken-breeders-hatcheries.16/

For an incubator I really like the Nurture Right 360, it's quite popular and there's a helpful thread on using it in the Incubation section.

 

[Mamagirl3]

I'm not sure if I understand what you're saying but anyway:

You're often able to find rare colors or breeds that hatcheries don't carry and/or eggs are often cheaper than buying chicks but there's a bit of a gamble involved since eggs don't ship well. You also need to set at least twice as many eggs as females you want since about half the clutch will be males. You also need a plan for those extra males.


I don't understand your question, but hatchery birds *tend* to be smaller than breed standards but it depends on the hatchery, some hatcheries do breed for the breed standard, you just have to look. Size also depends on early nutrition through the growing months.


You ask them. Most people get their stock from hatcheries or other breeders. And by breeders, I mean someone who is breeding birds to the breeds' SOP from different sources, including good hatcheries, to improve their line; not someone who buys stock wherever they see it and just lets them do their thing without quality control.
A reputable breeder will have worked on their line for some time.


If you want to incubate if you're serious about it, check breeders' clubs or ebay.
For the clubs, look up (for example) Wyandotte breeders club and look for a list of breeders and start looking for someone who has stock you like and is willing to ship eggs. Most people ship eggs since it's cheaper than chicks.

Thank you so very very much! You have been an invaluable resource of info for me!! Happy valentines and thank you!

 

[Ridgerunner]

AND if we order eggs from these hatcheries will it not be the same small chix we got as babies?

The eggs will be from the same flocks as the chicks they hatch and sell.

I have had an experience with a nursery that all my breeds are much smaller than breed should be... should i try incubating eggs and where can i get eggs?

The hatcheries we typically use are in the business of mass marketing chicks that resemble the breeds they are supposed to be. They are not selling show quality chickens. The typical breeding method is the pen breeding method where you might have 20 roosters in a pen with 200 hens so mating is random. That's not how you produce show quality chicks but it is a way you can sell thousands of chicks at a pretty low cost and maintain genetic diversity in their flock.

Someone breeding for show or for some specific purpose does not do it like that. The carefully choose which rooster best matches which hen with the best chance of producing the chicks they want. Grand champions at shows are created this way. Chicken breeds were developed this way. It is more labor intensive and costly per chick or per egg because they need different facilities. They typically feed them differently. The price per chick or per egg will be higher, as it should be.

Size is one of the show quality traits. The standards for show chickens contains a preferred size. Show chickens are bred to produce this extra size and are fed specific diets to help them grow to that size. One APA judge on here complained that some judges reward chickens that are over that preferred size instead of rewarding the ones that actually were the right size. He showed chickens and may have just lost a ribbon because of that. If size is that important to you then you need to get the right stock and learn how to feed them to achieve that extra size they are bred to achieve.

How do you find the right stock? You can go to the APA website and look for the breed clubs for the breed you are interested in. You may find breeders that you can buy from, either hatching eggs, chicks, or breeding pairs or trios. Expect extremely high prices and that they do not sell in volume. People that buy from them are generally looking to start their own flock so they can produce their own hatching eggs.

You can go to chicken shows and see what their chickens look like. Talk to the breeders and pick their brain on how to raise them. See if you can get chicks or eggs if you see something you like. Some breeders don't want to help potential competitors. Some breeders are very proud of the quality of their line and don't want others to use their name for chickens they did not breed. It takes a lot of knowledge to know how to pick which chickens to breed to maintain that quality. These breeders don't want someone to say these are from the Mamagirl13 line of champion chickens when Mamagirl13 did not select which adult chickens bred to produce those chicks. Others are glad to help people get started in their hobby.

If you are looking to start your own breeding flock the quality of the stock you start with is important, as is learning how to maintain that quality in future generations. It might be worth the extra cost to you to get that quality stock. If you are just buying them to eat you will probably be better off getting Cornish X or Rangers.