should I? hatch eggs?

[carousel]

Okay, I have been thinking abut this awhile.
I LOVE having baby chicks, I order from a big hatchery and have them mailed - I sell extras on Craigslist w/o much trouble.
I can't have roosters where I live so I would have to deal with more boys if I hatch eggs.
I see some of the beautiful purebreds on this board and think wow, support a local breeder! type idea - but I will have to deal with the boys.
so? I suppose I could have worse hobbies? buy eggs and hatch them LOL
pro=cons? how do others deal with this issue?
thanks
PS - if this is the wrong "topic" for this post, mods please move for me.

 

[ChickenTender63]

Absolutely!

Start hatching, but have an outlet for the roos to go somewhere to a new home before they crow

Sorry I'm not more helpful. I have plenty of room for what ever hatches and am thankful for that. In the long run, I will either keep what is hatched for layers or breeders, and then process the rest to provide food.

 

[BayCityBabe]

I will be the con position.
I spent way too much time on 'trying' to incubate this Fall. Had two failed hatches. DD and I learned alot about incubation. I feel that I will be able to hatch successfully at a later date. HOWEVER, I ran up and down the basement stairs, five times a day, for weeks and weeks. This is okay, I suppose, because I work from home and I homeschool, so it was an educational project. In retrospect, I could have better utilized that time - working, reading, relaxing. I'd feel differently if I had succeeded, though. It's a mixed bag.
You have to ask yourself if this is a good use of your time. Also, your rooster situation is a big, big, issue. Do you think you could re-home 15 roosters? I had a heck of a time re-homing three - and we are "legal" for roosters. They fight something awful. They bloody eachother. Do you have a friend that could offer temporary shelter to roosters while you are trying to find homes?
Just some thoughts...excuse me for playing devil's advocate.

 

[Pumpkinpup]

I just give my extra roos to a local man who sells them at a flea market. I never have any problem with having unwanted roos around.

 

[ChickenTender63]

Quote:
Some good points here, but also that because none of us are the same, it will be different for all of us. I am the type of person that while I find it educational to attempt this, I also find it very relaxing because I enjoy it. While many of the guys would rather go to a football game or watch the "big" game on tv, I would rather run up and down those basement stairs five times to check on my eggs. I never have been a sports fan, but really enjoy raising animals, cutting firewood, or building something new.

It sounds as though this is something that you would really enjoy, and the thing you need to figure out before you jump in, is what do I do with the extra roos. I like the idea of the other poster saying to give them away when you have them. You still get to do what you enjoy doing, something that you value, learn from, while doing good for other people by giving away the extra roos.

Hope some of this makes sense to ya, I think I am rambling to much this morning.

Good luck to ya!

 

[Frizzledhen]

I got hooked on hatching eggs in an incubator. Did pretty good. BUT, I soon found I was living my life 21 days at a time. I was so obsessed with keeping an eye on the incubator that life passed me by. Spring came and went, summer came and went and now it is fall. All I can say for that time is it came and went and I have nothing to show for it but a bunch of chickens. From now on I will let the broodies take care of the hatching. I don't have to check temps, humidity and worry about the power going out and if the eggs will hatch. Living 21 days at a time makes life too short.
Now don't get me wrong. If you can control your obsession to hatch eggs and not let it take over your life, go for it. But don't say I didn't warn you.

 

[1brahmamama]

I'm on the side of having your broodies hatch eggs. It seems so much more natural and a lot less work. They also seem to assimilate better into the flock when the mama hen introduces and protects them. I don't know if you could get a hen to brood this time of year in the chilly NW but maybe you could get some fertile eggs and try a half a dozen next spring when the weather warms and they start to set. I never had a brroder without a rooster around though.
What's wrong with supporting a good hatchery? If it works for you....

 

[carousel]

No problem with ordering from a Hatchery.
Just looking at some other breeds or quality of chicks, would be neat if the chicks didn't have to be shipped through the mail. Just thinking.

 

[griffin45]

Hatching your own eggs is a great joy. Getting rid of some might not be so fun. The time issue with hatching is relative to your incubator, the room your incubator is in and the weather. If you hand turn, make sure that you do it an odd number of times everyday. Try for three, one time you might get 1 and the next 5. Once you calibrate your incubator, keep it going and your hatches will get better and better with less of your time being used. We are pipping and zipping right now...

 

[swtangel321]

EVERYONE should hatch eggs