When is the best time to hatch?
The answers to this question will vary with season, reason and location. I am in the south and have the ability to hatch for several months if I didn’t use artificial light. Northern folks won’t have that luxury. So let’s dig into some scenarios to get that chicken brain a squawking.
All hatching should be done with purpose. Let’s say you are just hatching to have more layers to get more eggs. What breed did you choose? This is an important question because the point of lay (POL) is super important. If your breed of choice lays at 6 months and it takes 3 weeks to incubate, plus another week to gather the eggs up, then you are at 7 months to POL. Now we have to account for shorter days starting in July. If you hatch in Spring and it takes 7 months to POL and you do not supplement light, its highly likely you wont get eggs until Spring again. If you want the layers to lay NEXT spring, count back 7 months and you likely get September or October. The issue with this is, the breeders may not be laying anymore at this point because of molt. So the answer is to set eggs at the end of summer. The hens will be laying the bigger eggs and to me seems like the optimum time.
Now let’s say you are showing and you have fall shows in mind. You will want the bigger birds but still under a year of age. Take the show date and back it up. IF the show is in October, then you will want chicks around Christmas if not before. In order to do this, the breeders will have to be under lights. I personally do not have an issue with this as long as they get a molt break. I will let mine end the summer with their molt and recover and then I will put them in the barn around December 1 to light them. This will get them laying really well in time to go outside in the Spring and continue.
Next scenario is you want to sell started pullets in spring. How old do you want them to be at sale point? 4 months in March? Then you have to set eggs in November and guess what’s happening then? MOLT. To avoid this, you will need young layers who won’t do a heavy molt their first year which means you have to plan them. Those layers will need to be hatched the winter before.
The breed matters greatly in these scenarios, my large standards do not lay until 11 months give or take. The Bresse lay at 6 months but not full size, hatchable eggs. A production bird like an Isa Brown will likely lay earlier but they are not a chicken you can get hatching eggs for. Chicken keeping is more planning a year at a time and my purpose here is for those who are hatching for the first time now, will wonder why they are not getting eggs in August. It just isn’t physically possible. So be patient and do not rush them later in the summer, let them be a kid their first year and finish growing. I still have 2 hatchery hens who are laying at 13 years old. If you do this, they will take care of you for many years to come!