would I be mad to get some eggs??

[Madlentileater]

one of the hens is broody, we have no cockerel. Iw ou d be lovely to raise some chicks. She could have a little coop in the existing run. BUT...we could only really accommodate 1-2 more bantams, I think. I was think araucana bantams....Would the existing hens be nice to the chicks???whatwould I do with any cockerels???Plus, i was thinking of getting them from ebay- i remember reading v. negative stuff re eggc from ebay, bt most selleres seem to offer refunds. What do you all think?

If she's a good mother hen then she and the chicks can stay in the pen. But as she hasn't raised chicks before you'd need an emergency plan (ie. cardboard box in the kitchen )!

If you only have room for 2 more bantams then you'll either have to find someone to buy the other chicks or try just putting 2 or 3 eggs under her and hope she doesn't feel it's not worth the bother. Bantams usually sit on 7-9 eggs.

Cockerels generally can't be given away so you'd have to cull them or eat them. They'd be fine kept all together until they're about 5 or 6 months old when they may start fighting, crowing and jumping on the girls.

Ebay - I don't know anyone in RL who has bought them but have heard the negative reports on here. I also heard a story where somebody bought blue 'araucana' eggs but when they hatched in the incubator they were actually ducks. You could try looking on the Poultry Forum website or one of the many online chicken shops (they do often charge a ridiculous amount of money though).

PS. Do NOT look at my profile pictures.

we could easily sort a back up. Ducks, eh? that would result in VERY negative feedback! I think it's the cockerels that concern me most - we are vegetarian and eating or culling would not go down well with the DCs. maybe I could find a home in 5-6 months? How long would it all take (v ignorant)...I will have a look atthe pultry forum.
(Your pics are lovely!}

Do you mean how long for the eggs to hatch? Just 21 days! Eggs delivered by post generally turn up by courier within 2 days. So you could have chicks by mid-June.

Cockerels are a problem. They're noisy so lots of people can't keep one, they usually fight each other and even if they don't they need a 'harem' each or the poor hens suffer. Not everyone wants to breed their chickens in which case having a cockerel would just be an extra mouth to feed and perch-space that could be given to a laying hen who earns her keep.

Given your vegetarianism, I'd advise you to think very carefully before breeding livestock because you may have to make decisions further down the line that you'd rather not.

I'll have to put out feelers and see if I can find anyone interested in potential cockerels. Have just discussed it with ds4 (very keen) and pointed out that the chances of all hens are just as high as the chances of all cockerels!