Chick choices include incubators

Chicks create a lot of dust  -photo by Dar of BYC

Budding henthusiasts will be mesmerized by the bins of peeping fuzzballs in the feed stores this time of year. Any not possessing a will of steel and ice will end up clutching a folding cardboard box of sqwee and pip to their giggling bosom as they make their way home. Once at home, a safe and easy way to brood these cotton puffs is to raise them in your bathtub.

Alternatively, you can really use any large cardboard box, plastic tote or other unit of medium size. Be prepared to have a heat lamp, wood chips, paper towels, or other litter for poop removal. You'll need to deal with dust and escapees as time goes on, so be ready with an old window screen or oven rack to keep them in- when it gets to be a fun game to stretch their wings they'll buzz around! Do not crowd them. If they get too big for your brooder, you'll need to move them to a new enclosure. A box from a refrigerator is a good option.

Spring 'Chick Days' at feed stores offer limited breeds.  -photo R.Caldwell

The truly adventurous backyard chicken-keeper will keep walking past those peeping bins of puff and march over to the aisle with the incubators. Ah, yes- I said it: incubator. Every happy hen-sport wants to try it at least once. It's intimidating, complicated, and a bit creepy, but it's miraculous to have a chick break its way out of a shell right under your nose (pressed against the plexiglass window).

Be brave. Pick up the box. Determine whether you have a table in an area of your home which will fit this box, draft-free, stable temperature, for three weeks. If the answer is yes, you need to find the automatic turner!

Little fluffy chicks can be hatched right at home!  -photo by R. Caldwell

Once your incubator is assembled, you'll want to get it to the right temperature, which is 101.5* F at the top of the egg level, 99.5*F at the middle of the egg. Using a sealed fishtank thermometer at each level gives redundant accuracy, as digital theremometers often are inaccurate, and unsealed thermometers can be affected by the humid atmosphere inside the incubator. Don't consider adding any fertile eggs until you've watched your incubator remain stable without you touching the thermostat for 3 days. Words of wisdom- don't skip this step!

If you're interested in rare pure-bred birds or something not available in your area, you can buy fertile eggs on ebay or eggbid to hatch your very own. They'll arrive in the mail but will need to sit, large-side-up to rest for at least 8 hours. After their rest, gently pop them into the incubator and wait! Twenty-one days to chicks!