What came first? The chicken or the egg…..
All you need is an incubator and eggs…
Ok, incubating eggs is not for everyone nor is having chickens everyone’s cup of tea. Before you get your own chicks from the farmer’s store or incubate them yourself, please remember they are going to be grown chickens who need care, daily feed & water as well as the right space.
You can also end up with a rooster, especially when you incubate yourself. Then what? Would you sell it, give it away or eat it? When you buy chicks at the farm store, they are usually sexed but it is never a 100% guarantee.
Ready to get chicken crazy?
If you want fresh daily eggs from your own backyard chickens, you just need about 4 hens for a family of 4. Typically that’s enough. So think about where to build there enclosure and chicken house with a roost. Also research which types of chickens would you like? For meat or for egg laying purposes? Family friendly chickens, rare breeds….
Get your own incubator
A small incubator is absolutely adequate. No need to spend a huge amount of money. I mean your goal is to get fresh eggs and to save money from not buying them at the supermarket. An Incubator is quite basic actually:
It’s needs to be at the correct chicken incubating temperature which is 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit. Super important. Just a minor difference means you are just taking care of nothing after 21 days.
- Humidity: 40 to 50% humidity will be good for the first 18 days, then 65 to 75% for the remaining 3 days. Just wet a piece of papertowel and place it in the incubator or a lid with water in it. This helps the chick to break through the eggshell.
- Turning the eggs. Do yourself a big favor and buy an incubator with an automatic turning option. Eggs should be turned 3 times a day. You can do this yourself but believe, you’ll thank me later.
Incubator location
Place it in a room that has minimal temperature fluctuations. So not on a hot window or ice cold garage….
Fertilized eggs
Don’t get eggs from the supermarket and think you can get a chick out of them. Many of my friends think that’s what you can do. No.
Find fertilized eggs. Have a look on ebay or a chicken farm. They can mail them to you. Especially if you would like purebred chickens. Fertilized means a rooster must be present with the right ratio of chickens to rooster.
Turn on your incubator
It’s best to let it run at 99.5 degree Fahrenheit for a few hours so it has the right temperature. Put the eggs in there, ensure the eggs are rotating in the automatic egg rotating device and let nature do the rest. The less you open the incubator the better. Tell your kids.
21 days later
It takes about 21 days for the average chicken eggs to complete the process. Don’t help the chicks out of the egg, let them do the work. You will see peaks and holes in the eggs and it takes a couple of hours. Sometimes 6-12 hours. Patience.
Let them in the incubator for a day. They do not need food or water for the first day. Ensure they are dry before you take on the next step.
Move them to the brooder
You will need a box or container to be set up with a heating infrared heating lamp. Make sure it is not too close and also ensure nothing can burn as the bulb is hot. Place chick starter food and water in your brooder area for your chicks. Ensure the container is not slippery so the young chicks don’t hurt their fragile legs. Every week you can move the heating lamp away further. If it’s warm outside, let the chicks run outside for a bit. Once they have their first feather it’s time to turn off the lamp.
There is so much more on this topic if you need to geek out but this covers the basics. Chickens are quite easy to raise. Like every animal make sure they have food & water. Chickens literally can eat your leftovers from dinner, garden cuts, & you can mix it in with chicken layer food.
They are entertaining, have their own personalities & I think quite addicting too. Have fun!