Have chickens - now chicks

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We've had chickens for several years now but may take the plunge this year and raise some chicks (to satisfy my animal mad DD).

I think the first thing to do is determine what breeds we have , whether they are likely to be good mums and whether we need to get a new chicken for raising chicks.

Then we probably need to organise a visit from a rooster?

Tell me if I'm way off course.

So I'm pretty sure we have a Cambridge Blue and an Amber White )not noted for being good mother hens) but we also have a speckledy hen which goes broody in the summer and does have a reputation for being an okay mum.

So. Not sure if we need to organise a visit from a rooster in the spring or whether we just get some fertile eggs when we notice she has gone broody?

I'd get some fertile eggs from a reputable source. That way you can be sure what breed chicks you' ll get.
What are your plans for the male chicks? In my experience roughly half of each brood are cockerels and you can't give them away these days. No-one wants them. Our localFreecycle/freegle had posts all summer long from people seeking to re home their cockerels.

I know that lots of the chicks are likely to be male. I will need to think about that as we don't want them.

Many years ago, in the spirit of self sufficiency, we fattened some up and prepared them for the table. An old country boy who lived next door did the dispatching.

I was the only one in the family who would eat them. Quite a gamey flavour. I know, I'm a brute.

Old country boy next door was happy, he got the others.

Everyone needs an old country boy to hand when they have chickens.

Out of interest, do you wait until the hen is broody before suddenly going to quickly get some fertile eggs? Is it like Tesco, the supplier will just always have some to hand? Or what do you do?

Silkie/Sussex crosses are renowned for being good sitters but to be honest as long as you have a reasonably sized hen then you'll just have to see how good she is at sitting.

Fertility is affected by temperature so the optimum time is when the weather has started to warm up a bit.

Most people will buy eggs from a breeder (otherwise you need a cockerel to run with the hens for at least 10 days before you start collecting any viable eggs).

A broody will lay a clutch over a number of days and you need to get her sitting tightly on the eggs (I usually put pot eggs under them to encourage them to sit). She'll need to be put in a broody house away from the other hens and once she's sitting she'll need to be lifted off the nest twice a day to feed and drink.

Once the eggs have hatched @ 21 days you may need to remove any remaining unhatched eggs to encourage her to take the chicks outside. Don't let the chicks get cold or wet and don't put them on long grass (coccidiosis). Chicks don't need food for over 24hours after hatching because they're still absorbing the yolk sac.

Half the chicks will be cockerels so you'll need to have a think about despatching them when they are old enough to be sexed.

Miss thank you so much. Very useful information in my state of near total ignorance!

Good Luck

we cheat and use a brinsea 7 egg incubator with fertile eggs from our own chickens but you could buy some in or ask at your local farmers market. the brinsea is the easiest thing in the world to use. all you do is top the water up every couple of days then take out the turning thing a couple of days before hatch. it turns it does the temps everything and it means the chicks turn up when we want them. we have a purpose made box and light that they go in once hatched then outside from 6 weeks. means the kids (and me!) see them come of the eggs which is magical no matter how many times you see it.