YO GEORGIANS! :)

[Chickie Momma]

Where are you located GoldenChicks16?

 

[LTygress]

abmaddox, I'm in Jackson and I'm about to put 12 EE's in the incubator right now. So if you don't find any in the next 21 days, let me know.

I also went to Tractor Supply today and bought.... a second incubator. I'm about to crank up egg collection and incubation to gather as many as possible to get ready for spring. Two incubators, plus the hens that will almost definitely go broody (two of those - possibly three if the silkie is ready by then), means I'll probably be able to hatch all sorts of eggs this spring! Woohoo!

 

[GoldenChicks16]

@Chickie Momma Winder, GA. About 30 minutes from Athens

 

[carcar80]

@LTygress, do you hatch to sell? If so how much luck do you have? I want to try it so bad but in my mind I'll end up with 200 (well a lot anyway) homeless chicks.. LOL

 

[GoldenChicks16]

@carcar80 Homeless?? Never!! I prefer the term "more for myself," instead.

 

[carcar80]

@carcar80 Homeless?? Never!! I prefer the term "more for myself," instead.

LOL! I figured I might get that.

 

[abmaddox1981]

That's about a 2 and a half hour ride from me.

Yeah, that's a bit far. Ugh. If you have chicks in February I might can get the husband to ride with me. I just refuse to be in the car that long by myself.

 

[Jharper]

Yeah, that's a bit far. Ugh. If you have chicks in February I might can get the husband to ride with me. I just refuse to be in the car that long by myself.

Okay. I'll have to see.

 

[LTygress]

@LTygress , do you hatch to sell? If so how much luck do you have? I want to try it so bad but in my mind I'll end up with 200 (well a lot anyway) homeless chicks.. LOL

I do hatch to sell quite a bit, and I do tend to end up with some homeless ones. It takes a lot of work because you have to constantly update photos (and we all know chicks grow and develop FAST) so people can see what you have. Plus I usually spend HOURS outside during the warm months, trying to get the perfect photos of the parents. But you have to be ready to re-post or update ads all over the place, on a regular basis. I have sheets hanging up at Tractor Supply, feed stores, and ads on Craigslist too. And a lot of times, I'll end up holding on to several for a long while, only to have someone come by and buy them just as I release them with the rest of the flock... lol!

I think the hardest part (for me) is sticking to my prices. People try to talk you down. And they don't understand why a Phoenix should cost more than a Leghorn.

Christmas was (thankfully) a big demand season for them. I didn't think it would be, but lots of people contacted me. I had one guy that was wanting "anything I had" and contacted me ON Christmas Day! Unfortunately, I had already sold out by then.

But then some of the chicks I had around that time were 3 months old, too. So sometimes they will sit for a while, and sometimes they go right away. Spring time is obviously a BIG time for selling chicks, so I'm preparing now. Chicks actually seem to sell faster when you have a bigger selection so people can pick and choose which ones they want. Another thing that helps, is really knowing a lot about chickens. It also doesn't hurt that I'm one of the few hatch-to-sell people in the state who vaccinates ALL of my chicks from both Marek's disease, and general parasites (using ivermectin wormer), whether they are being kept or sold.

My second incubator is almost set, and the last of the eggs will go in there tonight. I have mostly mixed breeds right now with Plymouth Rocks, Easter Eggers, and Leghorns all mingled in with each other. But I will have purebred Ameraucanas, Sumatras (who just started laying), and soon some silkies in the mix too.

 

[LTygress]

Yeah, that's a bit far. Ugh. If you have chicks in February I might can get the husband to ride with me. I just refuse to be in the car that long by myself.

I'll definitely have mine before then though, if you are still looking on January 23rd-ish.