The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: Baggins11 on April 18, 2020, 04:24:05 pm
-
Hi All
I have invested in a small incubator and want to buy some hatching eggs. What is the best way to source eggs with decent breeding? Open to options on the breed but would prefer pure breed.
I have tried a few local breeders in Herefordshire and non seem to have any eggs available. In theory I don't mind receiving them by post but I am a bit nervous about buying them online. Does anyone have any ideas who I could try?
-
I would buy my hens first then incubate the eggs. That way I know the quality of my breeding stock and the provenance of my eggs. Under normal circumstances visit breeders and look at their stock.
Personally at the current time I would either risk the online purchase if you are desperate to hatch something or just wait.
-
We used to struggle to get rid of the eggs, so we decided to put them up for sale on ebay.
We sell 6 hatching eggs for £14.99 including delivery and we cant keep up with the demand!
Apparently everyone decided to hatch their own chickens this spring! I watch some listings on ebay and people sell 6 eggs for £30! And they sell lots and lots of them!
-
[member=192121]Baggins11[/member] , what breeds are on your shopping list? If you say specifically, it's quite possible somebody on here will keep them.
Hatch rates with posted eggs vary enormously, but one thing's for sure - they hatch far more reliably if they don't have to go through the post.
-
I am open to looking at any breed to be honest but would prefer pure breed and reasonable layers. I have kept chickens before but would rather not a very flighty breed.
Marans, orpington, plymouth rock, rhode island etc oh and vorwerks look lovely ;D
It sounds sensible advice to buy the hen and not the egg to guarantee good breeding. Maybe I could get some hatching eggs now and then think about expanding my flock once lockdown is over. Cost is a factor though with spending money on hens rather than eggs.
-
macgro what breeds are you selling?
-
I have brought eggs via ebay for years and had lots of really good hatches with many different breeds with them, there is always one dishonest seller though and my African Geese that hatched last year and looking distinctly Chinese..
-
macgro what breeds are you selling?
Are chickens all run together - Derbyshire Redcap hens and cock with hybrids layers. My uncle keeps rhode island red cock with hybrid layers, vorwerk, cream legbar etc hens. All run together as well so chicks will be mixed.
-
Face book groups would be a good idea as you can get an idea of the quality of peoples birds by the photos that they post.
The Vorwerk & Lakenvelder Community United Kingdom for example might be worth a look. Some like the Orpington club Fb group is members only so you would need to be a paid up member first. If you are serious about pure breeds however, joining the breed clubs and societies would be a good way to ensure that you are buying quality stock from reputable breeders that are true to type. Though I expect that few will be making trips to the post office for the next 3 weeks.
-
Though I expect that few will be making trips to the post office for the next 3 weeks.
Have a look just how many hatching eggs are for sale on ebay! Ridiculous amount!
-
Just check the thread again
-
Just check the thread again
I'm not sure what you mean by I meant that lots and lots of people are sending eggs and everything else by post at the moment. For example we sell 4 times as many products online as two months ago. Royal Mail, Parcelforce and all other delivery companies are extra busy because everyone is buying stuff online instead of going to shops etc
:)
-
I have great difficulty sourcing hatching eggs up here when I'm looking for new bloodlines and generally have to use ebay. I've had reasonable success and also quite a few disasters and I have found that eggs posted from different parts of the country have varying degrees of success, so choose your seller with 100% feedback and read the reviews. Choose a seller who isn't hundreds of miles away. I've just had a batch of chicks hatch on Easter monday, but they were from from my own flock :love:
-
It is really difficult getting hatching eggs at the moment. I normally collect from two local suppliers but neither of them will let me collect during lockdown. I finally found a lady in Gloucestershire who sells pure breed eggs through the post. They arrived the next day in good condition. If you can wait for two weeks i will be able to tell you how many hatched......