Using an incubator to hatch chicks is a good approach if you plan to hatch eggs each season and would like maximum control over the process. Alternatively, you may also try allowing one of your broody hens to do the incubation for you. Taking advantage of Mother Nature saves you the investment cost of purchasing…
Back in the day, people used candles to peer though the eggshell and into the egg. Nowadays, there are specially designed flashlights for this purpose. Regardless of how you illuminate an egg, it’s important to understand this process if you plan to hatch fertilized eggs into chicks. The process of candling involves shining a light…
Professionals use a practice called vent sexing, which is one of the most accurate ways to differentiate male chicks from female chicks. Don’t underestimate the value of experience in this field though. Even the experts make mistakes, and you will more certainly gain accuracy with practice! The process of vent sexing includes the following steps:…
A straight run of chicks will be approximately 50% male (cockerels) and 50% female (pullets). If you had the ability to test a chick’s chromosomes you would be able to know the gender for sure. Since that’s not the case, you will likely have to rely on a little “art” and a little “science” to…
Many people are interested in having fresh eggs in the morning, and are perfectly fine visiting their local grocery store or butcher when they need chicken for dinner. If you fall into this camp, then one or more of the egg layer breeds may be what you are looking for. If you are looking for…
The best policy for keeping your flock hydrated is to make sure they never run out of water. This mantra is as true for freshly hatched chicks as it is for fully grown hens. So long as water is available, chickens will drink water whenever their body needs it. Each of your chickens will drink…
The term “broody” refers to a hen that is fixated on hatching an egg. In general, you want to avoid having your layers go broody on you because their egg production drops down to 0. Basically, when a hen goes broody her body is going into egg incubator mode as opposed to egg producer mode.…
If you are a newbie to raising chickens, we do not recommend starting your adventure trying to hatch a fertile egg. Instead, we recommend ordering live chicks because it simplifies your project and gives you a higher likelihood of success. That said, if you are experienced at raising chickens or simply want to see the…