Where Do You Stand With Incubation?

[The Angry Hen]

Hello,

Yes, I know what you mean!
I agree Ya'el!

-K

 

[Hybridchucks]

tanks Kat!

 

[Hybridchucks]

 

[The Angry Hen]

-K

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I like and do both. I incubate most of my guineas in the incubator because its easier to ensure they (the eggs) don't get taken by predators and I sell them within a week of hatch so its easier than trying to wrangle them from the mother. I do leave a few eggs with her to raise.

I also incubate shipped eggs since they are usually more expensive, delicate, and something I really want a good hatch with and i don't want to have to worry about eggs being kicked out of nests or broken or the hen returning to the wrong nestbox, and so on. I have had power outages of over a day and not had it affect a hatch, so that really doesn't worry me.

For everything else I prefer broodies. I have a lot of broody hens (four currently with another five raising or having just weaned babies) so I either give them a couple chicken eggs from my own flock to hatch or a few guinea eggs and then sell the babies.

 

[Chickassan]

I would totally support broody hens if I actually ever had any.I have one "walking broody" and that's it.So incubator it is, don't like it I'm always scared of mucking it up and I'm an awful hen.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Okay, good choice.

I think one of the reasons I like broody more than incubators is:
If you have the fancy rotating incubators...

Will the babies hatch and rotate?
Correct me if I am wrong.

But your idea is perfectly fine!
-The Angry Hen

You take the turner out about three days before they hatch to prevent that.

 

[Oceanpizza]

I haven't hatched any chicks YET, but when I plan on doing so, I will use broody hens, because a good incubator seems to be too expensive.

 

[The Angry Hen]

I haven't hatched any chicks YET, but when I plan on doing so, I will use broody hens, because a good incubator seems to be too expensive.

Good choice!

-The Angry Hen (Call me K!)

P.S
Everybody has great choices,
thanks for sharing and replying!

 

[dekel18042]

Well, I THINK I would prefer a broody, then I wouldn't have to brood the babies and then introduce them to the flock. But the hens NEVER go broody when I want them to I prefer spring babies and mine seem to go broody (if they go broody) in the fall then go into a moult.
This year I swore I was going to only raise chicks for myself with a broody. At least a bantam would go broody, right? (Hmmm, could she cover three or four eggs?) But so far nothing.
If nothing goes broody before next spring instead of hatching my own I might buy a few of the breeds (pullets only) of several breeds I would like to try and make sure there are some broody breeds among them.