Broody Or Incubator?

Poultry keepers frequently debate the merits of hatching chicks with a broody hen or an incubator. Henkeeper ANNA TWITTO has tried both options and considers the pros and cons.

After several years of raising chickens, and with many broods of chicks under our belts, I thought I would outline some of our experiences in hatching chicks using an incubator and also doing it the natural way – that is, by a broody hen. Should you go for nature or technology? What are the pros and cons of each option? Read on to find out what has worked for us.

It was in the second year of our chicken-keeping that we felt the desire to increase our flock by means of adding some new chicks. We wanted to observe the entire process, from egg to softly chirping ball of fluff to productive adult egg-layer. We also felt that a truly sustainable flock maintains itself, by addition of a new generation each year, without us having to buy new pullets to replace aging layers.

However, circumstances played out in such a way that there were no broodies in our flock that year. As much as we desired to have at least one of our hens sit on some eggs, the girls just didn’t cooperate. And so it was that my husband launched his admirable project of a homemade incubator. It was done very simply and on a very small budget – a Styrofoam box with a thermostat and humidity detector. I was sceptical, but what did we have to risk, except a few eggs? And so an experimental batch of five eggs was placed inside. Imagine my surprise when, 21 days later, we had five beautiful fluffy baby chicks!

We have operated our incubator many times since, but we’ve also had some broodies step up to the plate. Last year, we had so many broodies the incubator actually sat on a shelf gathering dust, and hatching and raising chicks was done in an all natural way.

PROS AND CONS

I know many people swear by using broodies exclusively to hatch and rear chicks, while others love their incubators.Personally, I think there are pros and cons to both options. Here are a few points: