OK, I'm going to have a bit of a rant here...
It's spring and our hens are going broody left right and centre. Over the past year there seems to hve been a shift from "how do I stop my hen from being broody" to "ooh, I have a broody hen, let's incubate some eggs"
How much thought goes in to this? Do people actually realise how much planning is actually needed?
First of all you have to separate your broody from your other hens... this means another coop with a small run - do you really have space in your garden for another coop and run? You know, you not only have to separate your broody for the time she is sitting, but also until the chicks are 5 to 6 weeks old because your remaining hens may attack the chicks while they are small.
Secondly, where do you get your eggs from? Do you get them from a friend of a friend who keeps a cockbird of uncertain parentage with a flock of hens from uncertain parentage, from someone who runs a cockbird of one breed with a flock of mixed pure breed hens, or do you get them from a breeder who is passionate about improving the breed? Personally I would go with the second or third choice
Pure breed eggs do not have to be expensive unless you are specifically looking for eggs from "exhibition" stock. E.g. I paid 1.50 euros for 6 Australorp eggs, and 2euros for 6 Sabelpoot eggs (which are all fertile and growing
)
Thirdly, how many eggs do you let your hen sit on? OK, so I think you have to allow a little for attrition (not fertile, squashed etc) but if, on the off chance, they all hatch, do you have space in your garden for an extra 12 chooks... this leads on to
Fourthly, we all know there is nothing cuter than a day old chick, however they grow up quickly and before you know it they are all crowing.
Theoretically eggs hatch 50% pullets and 50% cockerals... if you hatch enough. If you are only hatching a few eggs, you may have the unfortunate happenstance of them ALL being cockerals, though in general you would probably end up with a couple of pullets.
So, if you are lucky and you hatch out 6 girls, do you have the room in your garden for another 6 hens? Is your coop big enough to accomodate another 6 hens? or will you need to buy another one? Can you afford another 6 hens (with regard to feed and vet bills).
If you are unlucky and hatch one boy what do you do then? Many places do not allow you to keep cockerals due to the noise factor, and those councils that do, you still have to contend with neighbours. OK, so it may not be too difficult to rehome one boy, but what if...
You hatch 6 boys? Would you run them on for meat? Would you do the culling, plucking and drawing yourself, or could you enlist the help of a friend/butcher/farmer?
Would you try to rehome them all? Here we go back to the "what kind of eggs do I get" because it is far easier to rehome a purebreed than a cross, and easier to rehome a cross than a heinz57.
So, have you really thought it out past the cute little chick stage? Really?
Here endeth my rant.