Mrs Steele along with my oldest daughter took the 3 Steele young ladies for the weekend ,girls time out. I got a call from Mrs Steele ,informing me that my 4 yr. old grand daughter is going gaga over chicken chicks at a petting zoo of some sort and that I should consider having some chicks for the grandchildren when they come to visit. Being the cheep basturd that I be , rather than buy chicks I figure the best idea would be to hatch them myself........... my question is..... after I buy the dozen eggs at the supermarket, how long will I have to set on them to turn them into chicks............and one more thing ...will it hurt? and one more thing does it matter if the egg shells are brown or white? Thanks in advance Ray
Dude ray the eggs in the store are not fertilized. You will sit on them till they rot before a baby comes out. Haha You have to get eggs from a chicken that has recently had um well sex with a male.
you can buy fertilized eggs under the organic section of the store to eat...but once cold they don't hatch...you'll have go to farm to buy fresh fertilized eggs to hatch into little chicks........good luck
I knew i came to the right place for advice .... Tejun, how do I ask a chicken if she recently had sex? can t i just fertalize them with the same cow dung that I put on the asparagus? Linda, that s why i m willing to set on them, to keep them warm, but the brown /white , do you know? thanks Ray
Hatching chicks and owning chickens in general is way more trouble than its worth. Ray, trust me its so much easier to buy chicks than to hatch them. There is even a few hatcheries that will send you live chicks through the mail right to your door.
Ray, brown and white eggs come from different breeds of chickies. As do red, green, blue, etc. For as little as they cost, and as much trouble and expense as it is to incubate your own, you'll be better off buying baby chicks "ready made". We get ours at the local feed store in the spring. This time of year you might have look to a chicken farm. I suggest you start with 5 or 6 hens. No real need for a rooster, IMO. Did you know that there is a "Chickens for Dummies" book. Not a bad buy before jumping in on your own. Also, there are "chicken forums", as like everything else. It will be easier than they make it sound, but the endeavor is not effortless - unless you convince the ladies to put in all the effort. OTOH, I do enjoy having our chickens around, and fresh eggs and grocery store eggs are two different things. All considered, it's probably cheaper to get the eggs at the IGA, but the taste is incomparable. Regards
I could send ya a dozen fertilized eggs. But you'd need an incubator. I'm an educator at backyardchickens.com . Over 110,000o members and all the advice you could ever want. It probably would be less expensive to get chicks.
Ray if you bury the eggs in horse manure they will be fertilized and kept warm . . . maybe hard boiled if the manure is very rich.
[quote="Karen Fletcher, post: 26023, member: 72 It probably would be less expensive to get chicks.[/quote] Ray got into this mess years ago as he went out to "get chicks" found the perfect Mrs. Steele, one thing leads to another, now he sees his expenses going up with the acquisition of a chicken farm.
http://www.mypetchicken.com/catalog/Day-Old-Baby-Chicks/Assorted-Brown-Egg-Layers-Standard-p581.aspx This place is good. For starters you'll need a big box, a heat lamp placed so that they can get to 95 degrees if they want, chick feed, and a chick waterer. (not a bowl to drown in). They need to be on paper towels for a few days so they don't get leg problems.
Some one is giving good advice based on knowledge and experience and you have to start don't you Tom. Sheesch.
If you order chicks, get them vaccinated for Coccidiosis and Marek's Virus. It will save you a lot of heartache in the future. If you vaccinate for Coccidiosis, do not feed medicated feed. http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/307252/imput-needed-chick-care-sheet/0_50
Yes David, at that age you can just pop them into your mouth and swallow. Actually, after they get a couple of years old and start to slow down laying, they tend to get a little tough. Also, chicken plucking by hand is a pain. You can just skin them, but then they turn out too tough for anything except the crock pot. Regards