A couple nights ago I had a dream that I was raising two baby chickens. They were really, really cute. So I decided I want to raise some. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to. I live in a fraternity house, I've talked to the other guys and they're all down with a house chicken. If it becomes a problem one of my good friends has a farm we can give it to which I'll probably do anyway when it gets bigger.

Anyway, I want to know 2 things:

1) Cheap way to make an incubator
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/eggs/res20-incubator.html
http://msucares.com/poultry/reproductions/poultry_make_incubator.html
url links aren't working but w/e

2) Is there a place I can buy fertile eggs (besides getting them directly from a farmer which is what I'll probably be doing)?

and bonus
3) Anybody whose done this before have any tips for me?

oh my god

seRapH

United States9808 Posts

October 07 2010 03:51 GMT

idk if you can get them from farmers man, since a lot of farmers dont actually own their chickens anymore. well, legally idk if you can get them, i'm sure a chicken farmer would be willing to sneak out a few eggs for you. just dont go looking into the chicken houses >_>

of course, maybe theres a few traditional farmers near you where they farm for fun instead of sheer profit.

FetusFondler

United States246 Posts

October 07 2010 03:52 GMT

Oh my goodness... I kind of want one too...

Btw, I know nothing about chickens (except tasty), but I googled "Raising chickens" and got this:

http://www.backyardchickens.com/raising-chickens-basics.php

Hopefully it helps :D

Terrakin

United States1440 Posts

October 07 2010 03:54 GMT

you can just get a chick instead of having to deal with an incubator.

RyuChus

Canada442 Posts

October 07 2010 03:56 GMT

So cutee! Ahh. I remember seeing baby chickens, made me hungry, so it's probably not a good idea for me to have one.

KurtistheTurtle

United States1966 Posts

October 07 2010 04:15 GMT

On October 07 2010 12:54 Terrakin wrote:
you can just get a chick instead of having to deal with an incubator.

I'm hatching my own chick.

On October 07 2010 12:56 RyuChus wrote:
So cutee! Ahh. I remember seeing baby chickens, made me hungry, so it's probably not a good idea for me to have one.

the name I've decided on is Nugget

thedeadhaji

39489 Posts

October 07 2010 04:18 GMT

cool!

If you act ont his, please let us knwo how it goes

Ellis

247 Posts

October 07 2010 04:19 GMT

Why have you decided to hatch your own when you can just buy the chicks?

semantics

10040 Posts

October 07 2010 04:20 GMT

On October 07 2010 13:19 Ellis wrote:
Why have you decided to hatch your own when you can just buy the chicks?

Where is the fun of just buying them.

KurtistheTurtle

United States1966 Posts

October 07 2010 04:23 GMT

#10

Its not in me to do this halfway. I'm with the chicken from the egg

konadora

Singapore66363 Posts

October 07 2010 04:29 GMT

#11

omg so cute XD

TheMunkey

Canada470 Posts

October 07 2010 04:30 GMT

#12

I'm sorry but they look tasty.

Ellis

247 Posts

October 07 2010 04:35 GMT

#13

On October 07 2010 13:20 semantics wrote:

Show nested quote +

Where is the fun of just buying them.

The best part is picking up the squeaking box from the post office. You don't get that when you order eggs.

KurtistheTurtle

United States1966 Posts

October 07 2010 04:42 GMT

#14

the best part is caring for the egg and working to give it life. if you fail, it dies. there is nothing more direct than that. you guys can get chickens from the post office if you want em so bad, im not doing that lol

@haji ill definitely be documenting this

Ellis

247 Posts

October 07 2010 04:54 GMT

#15

That's an interesting perspective on it, power to you if that's what you want to do. You should definitely try to get a live feed of their living area, or if not at least post semi regular photo updates.

Tamburlaine

Canada288 Posts

October 07 2010 05:15 GMT

#16

Well, I've got nothing to say for 1 or 2, but I can help you some on 3.

My first bit of advice there is "don't". Chicks are cute and fairly manageable, sure, but their grown up forms are considerably less pet-friendly. So, uh. Yeah. Don't.

But assuming you're set on your path... let's see...

So, make sure your chicks stay warm at night. I have no idea what kind of setup you have, but we had to run heat lamps all night for our chicks.

Next, and related to that last bit, think about where you're keeping the chickens. I'm assuming you don't have a shed or something that could serve as a coop (and even if you did, winter's a-comin' for those of us up here in the north, which... well, see the point above). You're keeping them in your home, yes? Well, you're probably going to want a corral of some sort set up for them. Not really a big problem when they're chicks, but adults can be quite messy, shitting everywhere and getting in to food all that shit. And of course, make sure that you have a straw base for their corral with a high enough fence that they ain't getting over it. And that they're somewhere with half-way decent ventilation. Dunno about you, but my nose has spent enough time inside cramped chicken coops, thankyaverymuch.

Now, a bit of positive related to that whole "getting in to food" thing: chickens can eat damn near anything that you could throw in a compost bin (coffee filters being the main exception, as I recall). Not to say that scraps should make up the entirety of their diet, but 'tis a nice little side benefit.

Also, free eggs are fucking badass.

Comeh

United States18919 Posts

October 07 2010 05:25 GMT

#17

If you go through with this, keep up updated.
I wouldn't mind if Liquid`'s mascot was a chicken.

selboN

United States2523 Posts

October 07 2010 06:12 GMT

#18

Chickens stink, really bad. At least this should make an excellent story over the next few months. Be sure to let us know how it goes!

unsoundlogic

United States391 Posts

October 07 2010 06:37 GMT

#19

I've got 2 chickens back home, we got them full grown, and they're pretty okay. They definitely stink it up everywhere, so you'll have to keep their living area clean. Mine like digging a lot, and they aren't terribly high maintenance. They also don't like me too much, but they'll run up to me looking for food. Unfortunately they're getting old, will probably end up in a stew T_T

StormWeapon

United States159 Posts

October 07 2010 07:01 GMT

#20

I have no idea why you want chickens for anything but eggs, but to each their own...
I currently have 10 Barred Plymoth Rock (very cool camouflage, and very hardy) chickens in my pasture, out of an initial batch of 25. The first few weeks you can keep them in a box with a heat lamp and just change out the packing/fluff/whatever you want to call it out every other day or so.
This will be especially easy since you're wanting a small number.
After they are almost fully grown they're really low-maintenance.

Side note: I have only seen 2 creatures on this planet as stupid as a chicken, sheep and fish.