The incubator is up and running ..

I fired up the incubator on Monday. A mix of RIRs, Americanas and four buff Silkies. I haven't been able to get the humidity level up to where I want it because the new egg turner is taking up all the space for extra water dishes. I'm hoping for a good hatch - we'll see.

I also ordered 30 day old chicks from our local hatchery. I ordered 10 RIRs, 10 White Leghorns and 10 Barred Rocks. I'm getting a mixed run of females and males so I can breed them myself next spring. We pick up the chicks on April 6th.

If the hatch goes well I'll have more chicks than we need. I'll likely offer some up for sale to help pay for some of the hatchery chicks. Part of the fun of raising chickens is to try to make the hens pay for themselves. You won't get rich raising chickens but if you try really hard you can break even.

On a side note - the goats are due to kid any day now. It's very exciting. Our family and friends are asking "Have the kids been born yet?" every day. We keep saying "Not yet but soon". I think they'll kid between now and next Friday. Any later than that and I'll really start to worry.