Several weeks ago, I began to investigate the possibility of hatching eggs instead of buying baby chicks at Tractor Supply . . not that I stopped buying chicks . . but there are varieties that Tractor Supply doesn’t have and we are moving more towards heirloom breeds of chicken, and those are pretty hard to come by locally. One of the ladies on a Facebook group I belong to is Bonnie, The Not-So-Modern Housewife. She mentioned that she had some Australorp hatching eggs and I said “YES!”. Then I realized . . I don’t even have an incubator so with a bit of back and forth communication with Bonnie, I ordered my incubator and let her know when it would be arriving and I placed my order for some of her Australorp eggs.
I ordered 12 eggs and they arrived last week. They were clean . . which matters a lot! They were wrapped in bubble wrap and cushioned in a priority mail box. They arrived on Wednesday and were immediately placed in the incubator. They are now in Day 5. It takes about 21 days for them to hatch so I’m anxiously counting down the days.
Incubator #3
(The photo shows eggs from Bonnie, along with turkey eggs from a friend, and a couple of eggs from my chickens, which will be the “test” of mailed vs. non-mailed eggs.)
Bonnie sells her hatching eggs on her website. She has Australorps, Barnevelders, and Easter Eggers (the ones that lay blue and green eggs) listed as the eggs she has available, or will have available. Because you don’t always know how many eggs you’re going to get, and because there are certain weather conditions when shipping eggs isn’t advisable, you may have to get on a waiting list but if you’re interested in hatching your own eggs, I highly recommend ordering from Bonnie. The Not-So-Modern Housewife!
I will keep you posted on what’s happening in the incubators around here.
Cindi says
How long will it be before you can tell if something is growing in there? Looking forward to seeing all the new little babies.
JudyL says
We can “candle” them after Day 10 and see if we see anything growing in there.
Lorraine says
Ok, this may be a dumb question,but curious minds want to know…is it possible for your chickens that are laying eggs to be surrogate moms? As in, sit on the eggs until they hatch?
JudyL says
Only if they are “broody” (wanting to sit on a nest and hatch babies). Simply sticking a bunch of eggs in the nest doesn’t entice them to sit and hatch them .. it has to be their idea and so far, no one has gotten that idea.
Sherrill says
Ooo, I can’t WAIT to see what pops out first!!
Marion Morgan says
Ah, the education of your blog boggles my mind, love it. Thank you for so much fun and information.
Kristin says
Judy – I have just the thing for you: a massive egg incubator. This morning the UW’s surplus sale Facebook page listed this huge, ginormous egg incubator.bigger than a refrigerator!! I couldn’t help but think of you!! You just said that everything happens for a reason! 🙂