Hen or Incubator "Poll"

Kylie · **Posted:** Mon Mar 03, 2008 5:33 pm

I don't have a bator yet so i can't really coment on that way, I love when i do have a broody as she does all the hard work of raising the babies, the broody i have at the moment is somekind of silkie x and i'm finding she is the best little mum.. The chicks are thriving.. :-D

Kylie · **Posted:** Tue Mar 04, 2008 5:28 pm

I'm actually having a bit of a delema over buying a bator atm :-?

i really like to have a hen sit and hatch any eggs only cause they do most of the work and its great watching them teach the chicks how to do things, also every time i have bought chicks and put them in a brooder they end up going to the big chooky heaven

the ones i have with a hen seem to all thrive much better. I know this has a lot to do with were i have previously bought chicks.

On the other hand a bator would be good as it seems easier to find the type of fetile eggs i am after much easier than it is to find some one selling sex chicks in the breeds.

If i could have a broody hen everytime a wanted eggs it wouldn't be a prob..

I'm really unsure what way to go.. :-?

Deans' Poultry · **Posted:** Tue Mar 04, 2008 5:32 pm

Depends how quickly you need to have an incubator. With the pekins you've got coming up, and whatever silkies you get, by this time next year you're going to have more broodies than you know what to do with :-D

It's up to you whether you can wait that long

County Lodge · **Posted:** Tue Mar 04, 2008 5:34 pm

Hi Kam31,

I got my bator as I had a chook abandon some eggs once 3 days out from hatching. And the same as you I can get a better select of lines by hatching fertile eggs. You need to get hold of a really reliable broody. My little black pekin is great. She lays about 6 to 10 eggs and goes broody. I have about 5 hens that like to go broody a lot so I nearly always have one broody at any one time.

As I said in another post. If you hatch them in an incubator and then you have a chook that goes broody about then just put the babies under her at night time. She will often accept the babies and raise them as her own.
I have done this before with great success by putting day old chicks under a broody hen, but only at night time does it work.

Kylie · **Posted:** Tue Mar 04, 2008 5:44 pm

Now that i have a few pekins i'm hoping to have a broody more often than not and my chances should be even better once i get some silkies..

So i think maybe the incubator will be a goer once i find one.. i'll only get a small one to start me off and see how i go. :-D

debbieo4914 · **Posted:** Thu Mar 06, 2008 1:07 pm

Well, my 5 little chickies hatched, and I brought 4 inside to the incubator/brooder over night as the kids begged and pleaded. However, when I went up to get the 5th one the next day I couldn't bear to take it away from the hen, and ended up giving her all 5 back! So they are all now in a guinea pig hutch which I've placed inside a chicken-wire cage to make sure they don't get out (and the rest of the flock can't get to them).

The hen took them back quite happily in daylight and they are all happy. This way they are close to the house so the kids can still handle the chicks and we can keep an eye on them.

The only problem I can see with this is that I like to vaccinate for Marek's, and because I only have a few they don't always get done as day-olds (it's whenever I can find someone to do them). By letting the hen raise them, if there is Marek's in the flock or environment then the chicks are exposed to it via the hen (who has been with the flock until going broody) before they get vaccinated and have time for the vaccination to kick in. At least if the eggs hatch in an incubator and you keep them isolated they aren't as likely to be exposed to the disease. Still, it's nice to see the hen getting a chance to be a mum, and I will still vaccinate when I can.

Deb :-D

debbieo4914 · **Posted:** Fri Mar 14, 2008 10:19 am

Okay, an update. I have brought all of the chicks back into the brooder. After I found the little buff araucana lying half under the hen, cold and gasping for breath (it died later) I decided to bring them all back inside where I can keep a closer eye on them for signs of trouble.

The hen has gone back out with the flock and seems happy enough - dustbathing and scratching around.

I have decided that I am going to have all of my eggs hatched at a hatchery (where they can be vaccinated properly) and then bring them home to a brooder. I know this is very artificial, and I love seeing a hen with chicks, but in my case I have had much more trouble using a broody hen.

It is much easier for me to keep a few tiny chicks clean in a brooder than trying to keep a guinea pig hutch clean with a hen who does enormous poos all over the place that you then have to clean up quickly to stop the chicks walking all through it in a confined space.

So I'm finally off the fence and will vote for the incubator and brooder.

Deb :-D

pjh · **Posted:** Fri Mar 14, 2008 12:33 pm

debbieo4914 wrote:

The only problem I can see with this is that I like to vaccinate for Marek's, and because I only have a few they don't always get done as day-olds (it's whenever I can find someone to do them). By letting the hen raise them, if there is Marek's in the flock or environment then the chicks are exposed to it via the hen (who has been with the flock until going broody) before they get vaccinated and have time for the vaccination to kick in.
Deb :-D

which is exactly why I don't vaccinate---once you vaccinate you have to keep doing it and the birds have no natural immunity-----and raising chicks with a hen in a vaccinated flock is risky, unless they too are vaccinated--to each his own---cheers pam

pjh · **Posted:** Fri Mar 14, 2008 12:42 pm

debbieo4914 wrote:

Okay, an update.
I have decided that I am going to have all of my eggs hatched at a hatchery (where they can be vaccinated properly) and then bring them home to a brooder. I know this is very artificial, and I love seeing a hen with chicks, but in my case I have had much more trouble using a broody hen.

It is much easier for me to keep a few tiny chicks clean in a brooder than trying to keep a guinea pig hutch clean with a hen who does enormous poos all over the place that you then have to clean up quickly to stop the chicks walking all through it in a confined space.

Deb :-D

my hutches are cleaned once the occupants leave them, they are moved to a new patch of grass every day or so and all poop and mess (well most of it ) is left behind-----so way less work than keeping a brooder clean

----and yes your choice is VERY artificial but it is your choice---- personally I have found my chicks are much healthier and hardier being raised out doors by their mum(or a surrogate), but mine is a non vaccinated flock---- :lol:

cheers pam

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