Incubating poultry

[British Red]

Ten years ago a local countryman friend was bemoaning the fact that the cost of a point of lay pullet was approaching £5.

Fast forward through multiple bird flu outbreaks, two Covid lockdowns, global feed and energy rate rises and decent pedigree birds are £30 to £50.

When you think that fertilised eggs are still remarkably cheap and available through the post, there's a lot to be said for incubating your own chickens. Not only can a single hatch pay for the equipment but you get access to all sorts of rare breeds that you are unlikely to find locally, you choose when you want them and the birds will bond with you from day 1.

Many people are scared of the idea of incubation, but the reality is that its both affordable and straightforward

 

[GNJC]

Crazy prices for a hen, Dutch tulips come to mind, and even dogs during lockdown.

Nature is always best and most pleasing, but failing that as an option you are quite right, incubators are a very good way to start off.

 

[Chris]

It’s a shame so many residential areas now have it written into the deeds that you cannot have poultry. Our house is victim to this, alas. Otherwise I’d be very tempted to raise my own.

I always just thought you had to sit on them for a few weeks… no wonder I got funny looks at the petting zoo.

 

[British Red]

Crazy prices for a hen, Dutch tulips come to mind, and even dogs during lockdown.

Nature is always best and most pleasing, but failing that as an option you are quite right, incubators are a very good way to start off.

We are big promotors of breeding with broody hens (we breed and sell Buff Orpingtons). The real problem is that most breeds no longer have a broody tendency so can't reproduce naturally. Of course if you only want eggs, having a breed that doesn't go off lay for most of the summer due to broodiness is a good idea....hence the incubators

 

[British Red]

It’s a shame so many residential areas now have it written into the deeds that you cannot have poultry. Our house is victim to this, alas. Otherwise I’d be very tempted to raise my own.

I always just thought you had to sit on them for a few weeks… no wonder I got funny looks at the petting zoo.

I can understand a restriction on cockerels in modern houses with tiny gardens but restricting hens seems extreme - they are less noisy than dogs & less messy than cats!

 

[Chris]

The conspiracist in me might be tempted to presume that it serves big corporations that people are able to be less self sufficient…

 

[slowworm]

The conspiracist in me might be tempted to presume that it serves big corporations that people are able to be less self sufficient…

To be honest it's understandable. We've kept poultry in a built up area and if hens get used to free ranging they can cry for hours when shut in. No worse than children, which should also be banned of course.

 

[GNJC]

It’s a shame so many residential areas now have it written into the deeds that you cannot have poultry. Our house is victim to this, alas. Otherwise I’d be very tempted to raise my own.

I always just thought you had to sit on them for a few weeks… no wonder I got funny looks at the petting zoo.

Not my field of practise, but I have vague recollections of having had to read up on this sort of thing... such a clause was usually inserted by developers to keep a new area 'nice'.

As with any other part of your deeds, you need to be sure of who wrote it and who can - and will - enforce it. You also may find it interesting to know how many copies of your 'deeds' there are in existence and who else has a copy.

Many people now have a simple Land Registry document, which often makes no mention of many things that were in their deeds and, indeed, deeds are often misplaced once a LR document has been obtained...

I think it extremely unlikely you would get any comeback for keeping hens in any case. But, if you have a genuine concern, you could take the evidence of no objection to a Court and ask for an order rescinding the offending clause from your deeds.

 

[British Red]

The conspiracist in me might be tempted to presume that it serves big corporations that people are able to be less self sufficient…

I think its a lot to do with individuals and egg producers not wanting to deal with broodiness and natural cycles

 

[Tengu]

Thats interesting.

I was doing a study on my house; a 2022 Addison Act Building.

So I have seen the original rental agreements.

The houses were designed with lots of space around them because the designers didnt want overcrowding. (12 to a acre) Also nice big gardens for growing food and raising poultry, (and in the countryside, some had pigs).

So, very forward thinking planning and one that is relevant today, (Even though the circumstances are far different).

But, on the rental agreement. NO PIGEONS.

 

[GNJC]

Thats interesting...

But, on the rental agreement. NO PIGEONS.

Which is entirely reasonable and understandable; after all, from pigeons it's only a small step to whippets, and from there the descent to ferrets, flat-caps and worse...

 

[Machiavelli]

I have been inspired. I have just ordered 6 fertilised quail eggs. I’m looking forward to having a go at hatching them.

I’m going to go and pick up some plywood now and start making a brooder and hutch.

 

[British Red]

I have been inspired. I have just ordered 6 fertilised quail eggs. I’m looking forward to having a go at hatching them.

I’m going to go and pick up some plywood now and start making a brooder and hutch.

Excellent - I assume you have an incubator?

 

[Machiavelli]

I have one for my bees: an Rcom Insect 70. It has adjustable heat, so I assume it should be fine for the job?

 

[British Red]

I have one for my bees: an Rcom Insect 70. It has adjustable heat, so I assume it should be fine for the job?

If it can maintain the right temperature and humidity it should incubate okay, you will need to turn the eggs at leat 4 times a day until 2 days before hatch

 

[Machiavelli]

I’m testing the stability of the humidity now.

 

[British Red]

I run 50% until 2 days before hatch for chickens the 70% during hatch. Quail typically hatch at day 18 but there's more variation (from day 16 to 20) so stop turning & bump humidity around day 14

 

[Snake]

On a side note and me just thinking as I read through this thread, how can you be sure an egg is fertile, until it either hatches or you crack it open and see that it has been fertilised?

I always have a cockerel running with my chicken and the eggs are normally fertilised when you crack them but I wouldn't like to guaranty they were fertile if I was to sell them.

 

[British Red]

On a side note and me just thinking as I read through this thread, how can you be sure an egg is fertile, until it either hatches or you crack it open and see that it has been fertilised?

I always have a cockerel running with my chicken and the eggs are normally fertilised when you crack them but I wouldn't like to guaranty they were fertile if I was to sell them.

You cannot guarantee that an individual egg is fertilised prior to either opening it or incubating it, but you can fertility test a cockerel and a flock of hens and measure average fertilisation levels. This is how we do it

We aim for 90+% fertilisation in two consecutive tests

 

[Machiavelli]

The eggs arrived this evening. I’m going to leave them at room temperature until tomorrow, then move into the incubator.