While I will continue to use the mothers as much as possible, between some hens not sitting or sitting when I want, between ordering birds from the south and then having this past years bird flu outbreak and the chicks and pullets not being sent as their was a lock down, and the increase in day olds locally,  add in the fact that my little quail will not sit their own eggs means that I need to take the bull by the horn..

The above is my big from the farm to me Christmas gift and it will be a huge learning curve, while I have a farm background, this was never part of it, while I have been on the farm here for ten years, we do natural or I buy local.. so I am coming in this as a total newbie..

So I am planning a few posts on this subject over the year to be, I am hoping to do a quail hatch, a chicken (laying hatch) and chicken meat breed hatch, Turkey hatch and the ducklings are a ?? as it depends on how many the hens sit and produce.

I did put out extra for the auto egg turner, as I figured it would increase the odds of me getting good results, I also have gotten a heavy duty book on the subject, more on that in different post, and I have joined a Canadian group on this subject to learn from those that do.. and I am grateful that I have few friends that have been doing this for awhile and that I am sure would answer a question here or there as needed..

Do you hatch your own eggs? Have you given thought to it? If so, what was your reasonings? Have you found a increase in the costs of the chicks or pullets?