When is a good time to start? Usually, I would say "anytime" lol, but there are some things to consider, especially for your very first attempt at hatching. As baronrenfrew said, humidity is WAY easier to control in winter. Spring to fall is humid, rain or no rain. Last year was an absolute nightmare in my area of eastern Ontario at least. Even running incubators dry start to finish, I had SO many drownings, even in waterfowl eggs. It's a lot easier to add water to an incubator (or to the whole house, as I do anyway, because I hate static lol) then it is to keep high humidity down. Even a few days of humidity being too high can damage an embryo. Congestive heart failure, edema, slipped (or completely missing) leg tendons, foot paralysis, chicks too swollen to turn in the egg, skull deformities, all go up in summer. And as JimW mentioned, damp can equal coccidiosis. It was rampant last year, I had a problem with it for the very first time, and it was a very big problem. Medicated chick starter did nothing to prevent the overload, and the less-than-hardy broiler chickens chased the coccidia with bacterial enteritis to boot.
So anyway, for eggs or chicks, wet=bad.
Also something you might want to consider, is that any pullets hatched after April may not lay eggs until the following spring unless their coop has lights starting in August when days are getting shorter.
Hallowe'en to 1st of March is my favourite time to hatch, because hatch rates are better, chicks are healthier, AND these are eggs laid when most birds have quit for the season, and it's something I like to perpetuate so I always have at least a few eggs in winter :) Plus, if you think you might want to show your birds down the road, it's nice to have a few birds in fall that are old enough to be judged, but not old enough yet to molt, so January/February is a good time to hatch. Also the best time if you plan to butcher your extras, as they will be mature by late summer, and you won't have to worry about feeding too many birds over the coming winter. These are things I keep in mind not only when I'm deciding whether or not to incubate, but also when deciding whether or not to allow a hen to sit on eggs.
Flip side, if you plan to sell any extras you hatch, you will get the best money for young (day old to 11 months old) birds in Spring. It is very difficult to sell birds in Fall without taking a huge loss, and you cannot GIVE cockerels away, so hatching in Spring and Summer can cause more headaches than one.
Many processors will charge more money to slaughter "backyard birds" than for meat breeds, because they give you processed birds by species and weight, but if they are heritage breeds you're sending in, then they have to take time and effort to make sure you get your own birds back--the differences are obvious. You may want to get comfortable with processing your own extras, if you aren't already.
There is also the brooder issue--if brooding chicks outside, between September and May/June, it can be hard to keep heat and ventilation in balance enough that they don't get chilled or respiratory irritations from stale air/their own dust. If power goes out to their heat source, they die, very fast.
If brooding in your house, there will be dust. A fine, slightly greasy powder that will coat everything, IN everywhere. You will find it for years after the chicks have left the house LOL. Your remote control batteries will die, and you'll open the battery case and there will be dust
I had some luck keeping it under control by topping my brooder tubs with furnace filters. Some people use HEPA air filters, but I never have, so have no idea how well they would work, or how cost efficient they are.
If you're not already allergic to chickens, exposure to their dander can eventually trigger an allergy. If you are allergic to chickens (as I am ;/ ) then the dander will actually help desensitize you. Either way, if you have chicks in the house, prepare to have every dark surface look like a flour factory blew up. Daily. OK, that's an exaggeration, but if you're a clean freak, birds in the house isn't for you!
One final word of warning: incubating eggs can be highly addictive. Failures are heartbreaking but can push you to try again and again until you get it right, and successes are like eating fine chocolates--so rewarding you don't care how much it costs, it just feels GOOD. Plus, there's something that makes you feel a little god-like when you make life happen just by adding a little heat!
:easter34: :easter34: :easter34:
, just the thought of the question when asked to this group of regulars
to have chicks in the spring..we are both way too busy; sooooooo, I've been incubating since Oct. My first hatch I hatched out 13 out of 14. Second hatch that hatched Jan15 was 100% and I'm on day 5 of my 3rd hatch. So, hatching during the winter months has worked will for me.
