Ordering Chicks vs. Hatching: Which Is Right for You?
Should you buy day-old chicks or hatch your own eggs? Compare cost, effort, breed choice, and results to decide the best way to start or grow your backyard flock.
When it is time to start or grow your flock, you face a fork in the road: order ready-to-go baby chicks, or hatch your own from fertile eggs. Both paths lead to chickens, but they differ a lot in cost, effort, and what you can expect along the way. There is no single right answer, only the right answer for your goals, budget, and how hands-on you want to be. This guide lays out the trade-offs so you can choose with confidence.
If You Decide to Hatch
MATICOOPX 20-Egg Incubator with Auto Turner and Candler
$75.99 on Amazon
Stable temperature, automatic egg turning, and a built-in candler for home hatching.
Onsju 18-Egg Incubator with Humidity Control
$59.98 on Amazon
A smaller automatic incubator with humidity display for first-time hatchers.
ZenxyHoC Brooder Heating Plate with Anti-Roost Cone
$26.99 on Amazon
Whichever path you choose, hatched or bought chicks need a warm brooder.
The Case for Buying Chicks
For most beginners and small backyard flocks, buying day-old chicks is the simpler and often cheaper route. The chicks themselves are inexpensive, you skip the cost of an incubator and the weeks of careful tending, and you can buy sexed pullets so you end up with layers rather than a surprise crowd of roosters. You also start with healthy, already-hatched birds, removing the uncertainty of whether eggs will develop at all.
Where do you get them? Mail-order hatcheries offer the widest breed selection and reliable professional sexing, though they usually require minimum order sizes. Local farm and feed stores are wonderfully convenient in spring for picking up a few chicks, but breed choice is limited and sexing can be less certain. Local breeders and poultry swaps are great for specific breeds and let you see the parent stock firsthand. Whichever you choose, buying gets you to a thriving flock with the least equipment and the most predictable results.
The Case for Hatching Your Own
Hatching is deeply rewarding and opens doors that buying does not. It lets you raise rare or specific breeds that may not be available locally, produce larger numbers of birds economically, and experience the genuine wonder of watching chicks emerge after 21 days. For families and homesteaders, the educational and emotional payoff is a big part of the appeal. If you keep a rooster with your hens, you can perpetuate your own flock indefinitely from your own fertile eggs.
The trade-off is effort and uncertainty. You need an incubator with steady temperature and humidity control, or a willing broody hen, and you must tend the process attentively. Even then, not every egg hatches, shipped hatching eggs in particular have lower success rates, and you will get roughly half cockerels, many of which you cannot keep or are not allowed to. Hatching is an adventure, not a shortcut.
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How Hatching Actually Works
If you go the hatching route, the essentials are straightforward but unforgiving of neglect. Chicken eggs take 21 days to hatch. They need fertile eggs to begin with, which means a rooster was involved, since unfertilized eggs never develop. In a forced-air incubator, hold a steady temperature around 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit with carefully managed humidity, and turn the eggs regularly until the final three days. For the last three days, often called lockdown, you stop turning and raise the humidity to help the chicks hatch. A broody hen will handle all of this herself if you are lucky enough to have a willing setter, since she manages temperature, turning, and humidity by instinct.
Quick Comparison
| Factor | Buying Chicks | Hatching Eggs |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront equipment | None beyond a brooder | Incubator or broody hen |
| Effort | Low | High, 21 days of tending |
| Sex control | Can buy sexed pullets | Roughly half roosters |
| Breed selection | Wide via hatcheries | Anything you can get fertile eggs for |
| Predictability | High | Variable hatch rates |
| Best for | Beginners, layer flocks | Rare breeds, larger numbers, the experience |
Making Your Decision
Choose buying chicks if you want the simplest, most predictable path, especially if you only need a handful of layers and live where roosters are banned. Choose hatching if you are drawn to the experience, want a specific or rare breed, plan to raise many birds, or already keep a rooster and want to grow your flock from your own eggs. Whichever you pick, start small with three to six birds, check your local ordinances on flock size and roosters first, and have a warm brooder ready, because both paths end with the same delightful job of raising baby chicks into a healthy flock.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to buy chicks or hatch your own?
For small backyard flocks, buying day-old chicks is usually cheaper and simpler than hatching. Chicks themselves are inexpensive, and you skip the cost of an incubator and the electricity to run it. Hatching pays off more when you want many birds, specific or rare breeds, or the experience itself. Factor in that hatching produces roughly half roosters, which most keepers cannot use or are not allowed to keep.
How long does it take to hatch chicken eggs?
Chicken eggs take 21 days to hatch under proper conditions. They need a steady temperature around 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit in a forced-air incubator, carefully controlled humidity, and regular turning until the final three days, when you stop turning and raise the humidity for hatching. The 21-day timeline is reliable, though a day early or late is normal. Patience and stable conditions are the keys to a good hatch.
Where can I buy baby chicks?
Common sources include mail-order hatcheries, local farm and feed stores, especially in spring, and local breeders or poultry swaps. Hatcheries offer the widest breed selection and reliable sexing but often have minimum order sizes. Feed stores are convenient for small numbers but have limited breeds and sometimes less certain sexing. Local breeders can be a great source for specific breeds and let you see the parent stock.
Do I need a rooster to hatch eggs?
Yes. Eggs must be fertilized by a rooster to develop into chicks, so you cannot hatch the unfertilized eggs from a hen-only flock or from the grocery store. If you want to hatch your own, you either need a rooster with your hens or you buy fertile hatching eggs from another keeper or hatchery. Remember that hens lay eggs to eat just fine without any rooster.
What are the downsides of hatching your own chicks?
Hatching takes equipment, attention, and a tolerance for imperfect results. Even with a good incubator, not every egg hatches, and shipped hatching eggs often have lower success rates. You also get roughly half cockerels, which you may not be able to keep, plus the occasional weak chick that needs extra care or does not survive. It is rewarding but more involved and less predictable than buying healthy sexed chicks.
Can a broody hen hatch eggs instead of an incubator?
Yes, and many keepers prefer it. A broody hen who wants to sit will incubate fertile eggs and raise the chicks naturally, handling temperature, humidity, turning, and brooding for you. The catch is that you cannot force a hen to go broody on schedule, and not all breeds are reliable setters. When a willing broody is available, letting her do the work is often the easiest path to homegrown chicks.
How many chicks should a beginner start with?
Beginners do well starting with three to six birds, since chickens are social and need company, and a small flock is easy to manage while you learn. Whether you buy or hatch, plan for some attrition and, with straight-run or hatched eggs, for unexpected roosters. Always check local ordinances first, because many towns cap flock size and prohibit roosters, which shapes how many birds and which sex you should aim for.
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