ॐ Steamboat Island Farm

If you have an incubator, then you’re probably already aware of and looking for the entire egg-to-chick-to-hen experience. You know you’ll be waiting forever, but you’re willing to take on all the risk for the joy of watching them pip, zip, and pop straight into your loving hands. You got this!

If you have a broody hen, you know you have a broody hen. She lets you know every time you get close by fluffing up and getting feisty. But let’s be really specific before you go putting anything under her.

You might be looking for BRAND NEW chicks. It’s rare that all the timing aligns, but sometimes it does, and we can put newly hatched chicks right under your broody mama.
This only works if she’s been broody for a while, at least a week or so of refusing to leave her nest. The recommendation is to ALWAYS place the chick under her overnight, allowing mama to be woken up by the chick.
Nothing is ever guaranteed, but this usually breaks the hen out of her broodiness and into a matronly mode where she takes care of the chicks, which is hands down the simplest way you’ll EVER raise chicks.

You could also be looking for fertile eggs to place under broody mama. This works well if your mama has been broody long enough to let us know that she’s dedicated, but not so long that she’s exhausted. Setting new eggs under her means starting a 21-day cycle from the beginning.
I often use a pencil to mark the new eggs I’m placing under a broody mana, so that I can begin slowly removing the unmarked eggs that I didn’t give to her.

In either of these cases, having an incubator and a heated brooder setup on hand is always a good idea, as sometimes new mamas turn out not to be reliable. Fortune favors the prepared.

Silverudd’s Blues wean themselves off of heat surprisingly early, about 2 weeks earlier than other birds, but if you can’t supplement heat, then your choices quickly turn away from anything under a month old.
Older chicks cost roughly double the price of newly hatched chicks, but you avoid the hassles and risks of early brooder care, including those delicate first few weeks. You also get your pick of girls, guilt free – with zero worry that they’ll turn out to be roosters.

That’s completely fair. There’s a reason people love buying guaranteed pullets. You are definitely looking for a guilt free hen or pullet. While the price still accounts for the overall hatch ratio – essentially covering the male chicks too – you get the peace of mind of taking home ONLY the girls. No Crowing Allowed

The fastest way to egg production is getting laying hens. Skip the first year waiting period, the feed bills, the worry about her being a him, and go straight into picking up your own fresh eggs every day. It’s a dream come true. Historically, availability is rare, so snatch them up quickly if they become available.

I so love this one. You NEED day-old chicks, either hatching out your own, or picking up some that just hatched here. You NEED ones that haven’t been contaminated with experiences from anyone else yet – little blank slates that can imprint on just you. Highly addictive, baby chicks are the epitome of cute, so get as much time in with them as you can! Start at the beginning!
It is so much fun having baby chicks climb all over you, fall asleep and wake up still in your hands, or having them hang out with you perched on your shoulder while you finish up computer work. When they nestle into your neck, it makes the whole day better.