Should I or shouldn't I.....

[Mrs. Green Thumbs]

I have heard so many great things about BO's and I would LOVE to have a few in my collection. I am ALSO very VERY interested in hatching. Now some may know and some may not that I am a newbie/addict to chicken's. My first flock is almost ready to spend their first night in their newly refurbished (ex rabbit hutch) coop. (the girls are 8 weeks and some change) I have nothing in the way of an incubator or any such thing but I am really loving the idea of hatching, Id love to have the experience for my entire family.


But... I'm terrified of failing to hatch even one chick and dealing with (explaining) the situation to a 7y/o. let alone get lucky and have one or two hatch to only turn out to be roo's... So I'm leaning more toward's possibly cooling my heels on all this and focusing on my garden and girls. But every time I get started on chewing the thought over I can't help but get giddy at the thought of a new project, that could possibly give us brand new baby chicks and hopefully a beautiful BO hen to love and cuddle.

So:

What's the positives and negatives of failing and or succeeding at hatching?

What should I expect to need?

Any advice or thoughts? I haven't quite made up my mind one way or another but I am seriously thinking about it.

 

[phaethona]

I'm no pro either, and I too would love to hatch someday. from what I've read on here, you can't really expect a perfect hatch on the first try, always a possibility, but don't be too hard on yourself it you don't get it perfect on the first try. I also have daughters and I'm nervous too, but more so about disease and predators and dealing with my girls(humans) being sad over losing what they consider a pet. BUT, I also think that it's a good life lesson to process loss, and at age 7 she's probably mature enough to start to understand it.


So I vote yes!

it'd be very exciting and a great learning experience for the whole family

Sorry I can't help you out on the details, but if I had the supplies and know-how and room for more chickens I would jump in and do it too. good luck either way!