Newbie Question

[emalin]

We are starting our first flock. I became obsessed with a particular breed--Dominiques--that are only available as hatching eggs in my part of the country. (It seems that hatchery chicks of this breed don't have many of the traits we admire.) My question: Is hatching chicks too much for a family of chicken newbies to take on? We have a 2-year-old who would love it but I don't want to take on too much and have a frustrating experience. Curious to hear what more experienced people have to say. Of course there are other breeds (like all of them!) we like that could come to us already hatched. Thanks!

 

[sumi]

Incubating and hatching eggs can be quite simple and huge fun, so long as you follow a few basic guidelines and use proper equipment, starting with a decent incubator. A friend of mine put together a fantastic article on hatching that I think explains everything MUCH better than I can

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101

 

[LilyLeghorn]

No, hatching eggs is definitely not too hard, even for newbies!

The first time I hatched eggs, I had only ever owned one chicken and ended up building my incubator from scratch. It was really fun and exciting, and great for the entire family. My little sister (in elementary school at the time) also hatched eggs for her science fair project with very little help from me, so it can be done! As long as you have patience; 21 days can sometimes seem like forever.

All you need is an incubator, a candler (or a flashlight), water (for humidity), maybe a thermometer (if the incubator doesn't have one built in), and most importantly, eggs! When you're buying the Dominique hatching eggs, make sure they're fresh and, this is optional, but you can crack one open to test for fertility (fertile egg yolks will have a "target"-like white shape on them).

Also, if you buy a good incubator (I eventually bought a HovaBator), you really won't need to do much work at all. Just check the temperature a lot to make sure it's not fluctuating too much and refill water when humidity is getting low. And remember to turn the eggs three (or any odd number higher than that) times a day. These are the three basic rules of thumb.

For more info. and help, I would recommend this websites; they helped me out a lot when I first started incubating:

http://www.howtoincubate.com/
http://www.mypetchicken.com/hatching-eggs/guide-toc.aspx
http://shilala.homestead.com/incubating.html

Ultimately, the experience of hatching out chickens yourself is an unforgettable one! It really gives you a new found appreciation of nature and I'm sure your 2-year-old will enjoy it greatly.

Lots of luck!

 

[lazy gardener]

Hi, just had to respond. I am also a Dominique fan. I started my flock by building an incubator, a chicken tractor, and a cattle panel coop. Did a practice run of 6 eggs from a local BYC person (hatched 5/6) and got 3 EE and 3 Doms from local hardware store. Unfortunately, the Doms were all roosters. So, hoping to get started with Dom pullets this spring. I wish you the best of luck in getting quality eggs to start your Dom flock. Hatching is not hard. The most difficult part is waiting long enough to be sure your temps in the bator are really stabilized before adding eggs. Even when I think everything is perfect, after the eggs go in, there are a couple of days of very close observation and tweaking required (at least for me with my incubator) so, it's a good idea to start it when you can be handy for the first few days. Making an incubator is an easy, fun project. If you can wire a lamp, you can build an incubator with the excellent tutorials available on BYC. Be sure you use a thermostat and a fan. If you can get your Dom eggs locally, that is a good thing. I still don't have the confidence to take the jump toward shipped eggs. Most hatcheries carry Dominiques. I hear that Cackle has a good line (for hatchery chicks). Mine are coming from Murray McMurray.

 

[emalin]

Thank you!