No, this is not a post about the birds and bees. Spring is well on the way and may of us chicken folk already have chicks. But chickens breed and lay all year round. So you can get chicks almost anytime.
I've gotten chicks from the local Tractor Supply Store, from several different hatcheries and of course I've hatch eggs bought online and from my own hens.
Hatching is a lot of fun and well worth the time. For the cost of an inexpensive $40 foam incubator you can experience the joy of seeing a baby chick peck it's way out of its shell. The also peep inside the shell which is said to signal the other chicks it's time to hatch. And maybe to let mom know they are on the way.
This morning I decided to do the last way to get chicks. Let a chicken hatch them. If you've had a hen go broody, you know how hard it is to get her to stop. Well one of my better layers has gone broody and for the past 2 weeks hasn't laid any eggs and I can't get her to stop setting.
So I gave in. I grabbed a few just laid eggs and slid them under her. I moved the other nest box to the other side of the coop to keep her from switching nests when the other hens lay and set my calendar for 21 days. It will be fun to see her with chicks in tow.
I've gotten chicks from the local Tractor Supply Store, from several different hatcheries and of course I've hatch eggs bought online and from my own hens.
This morning I decided to do the last way to get chicks. Let a chicken hatch them. If you've had a hen go broody, you know how hard it is to get her to stop. Well one of my better layers has gone broody and for the past 2 weeks hasn't laid any eggs and I can't get her to stop setting.
So I gave in. I grabbed a few just laid eggs and slid them under her. I moved the other nest box to the other side of the coop to keep her from switching nests when the other hens lay and set my calendar for 21 days. It will be fun to see her with chicks in tow.
