My First Hatching Eggs

Having done a lot of background reading and discussion with chicken-keeping colleagues, I finally decided upon a mixture of Cream Legbars and Welsummers for my first flock.

As I have always intended to hatch my own chicks, these two varieties have one distinct advantage over many of the others - the ability to visually sex the chicks shortly after hatching. 

Cream Legbars lay an attractive blue/green egg, whereas Welsummers lay a speckled darker brown egg. Both varieties are hardy, happy to forage and have a generally friendly temperament.

I ordered half a dozen of each type of hatching egg from a local poultry dealer. They arrived by Royal Mail Special Delivery the following day and were firmly secured in a polystyrene box, which had been twice bubble wrapped and placed in an external polythene bag.

With such thorough wrapping, the eggs arrived in good condition. After ensuring the eggs were pointy-end downwards, I placed them in a cool cupboard to settle overnight. They are going into the incubator tomorrow.

My first hatching eggs are shown in the image above.