[honeybee]

I am in West Sussex and relatively new to the chicken world but am looking to try to hatch some of our eggs to expand our flock however i cant justify spending over £100 on an incubator i will only use every now and again for a couple of eggs.

I would like the experience of trying it at home and learning how to look after the baby chicks

Does anyone have one they are prepared to lend out, maybe in exchange for a couple of chicks or something (i do bake nice cakes as thank you's too) or can someone recommend a place to hire one that isnt too costly?

Thanks in advance

Fiona

[Chookiechook]

The other option is to buy one and then ebay it afterwards...

You would need to buy something like an rcom suro so that it is a sellable one, but would probably be cheaper than actually hiring one

I bought my second suro second hand and still paid £138 plus £10 postage... and I wasnt the only one bidding!!

Or buy day old chicks, so although you dont get the actual hatching bit, you get all the less nerve wracking fun afterwards.

Just a couple of options to mull over

[honeybee]

thanks for that, have pondered on it but think i am best getting one cheap second hand or borrowing one, i have decided not to buy chicks as we have a cockrell and really want to see what mix we get and so we get a similar chicken to add to our bunch really and enjoy the whole process of hatching them

we do have a broody but she keeps moving nesting boxes so the eggs dont always stay warm!

[joyfull]

If you already have a broody I would collect her up and whilst holding her under my arm transfer some hopefully fertile eggs into a prepared broody coup (I make sure she sees all this happening hence keeping her tucked under my arm) I then place her on the eggs in the broody coup and shut her in until the following morning. I also make sure that I place the eggs the same way up and in the same pattern. The next day I allow her into the broody coups run only for hwer feed and water - I take her off the nest twice a day if she doesn't get off herself - most will get off all by themselves after a week or so of being lifted off. I have done this method for the last 2 years and it's always worked for me. Just emember to keep her shut up for the first day (I do the transfer in the afternoon). The broody that I have sitting on eggs at the moment was like yours changing nest boxes and then sitting on nothing but since transfering her she has sat tightly so fingers crossed chicks will hatch in about 11 days time 

[wyandotty]

Fiona,

Whereabouts in West Sussex are you?  I have got chicks, broodies and an incubator, I might be able to help.

Sandra

[honeybee]

I am in Littlehampton.

Thanks for all advice, our broody has been this way since January so we have recently put some more eggs under her which i have dated hoping for some result but if nothing happens and she is still broody once we are back from holiday then I will try your idea of a different coup for her to sit on some eggs