So next year we want one of our mutts to have chicks but I wonder if she will sit on them or not. Does it depend on weather? It's either in spring or summer that we will let her, so which one is better? Also she is a brahmaXRIR, are both of those breeds good broodies? Should we just wait and see if she will sit on them or should we just get an incubator..... Which reminds me, are incubators expensive?
Hi - your hen decides when she wants to brood eggs & there is nothing anyone can do to help her along. Lots of tips & tricks people will tell you but none of them really work. In the end she decides. I currently have 2 of my 15 hens broody - have no idea why at this time of year. Anyway - some birds are good sitters & others are not - yours will do fine if they decide to go 'broody' & you wont need to do anything but keep food & water near her & seperate her from the flock once you are sure she is sitting (or not its your choice but there is less risk of losing the hatch if she is alone) An incubator can be purchased for a ton of money if you want to hatch hundreds of eggs at a time or as cheaply as $20 if you want 3 or 4 at a time. The standard hovabator incubator you find at the farm store is about $45 +tax & another $45 for an automatic turner (eggs need to be turned 3x per day for the first couple weeks). You can turn them by hand if you like & save the extra $45. I think they hold 20 or 30 eggs. I just built one myself - you can find tons of plans to build one cheap with stuff you find around the house. It really isn't hard or expensive if you don't get too fancy. The incubator is the only way to plan when you will have chicks though. Spring chicks are usually stronger than summer chicks as they have longer to grow before the cold weather. Lots of people start planning the hatch in February since they take 3 weeks to hatch & then will be in the brooder for another month to 6 weeks after that - which puts you at April when they are ready to go outside full time. Hope this helps!
