I am planning to buy a locally made incubator to hatch my own eggs. My neighbor recently asked to raise their rooster in my coop. I was happy to help, even without being paid, because it means the rooster can mate with my hens. Now I can get fertile eggs to use in the new incubator.
It is a local rooster that has black feathers. Local chicken breeds are valued higher at the market, but their hens do not lay as many eggs as brown chickens or Isa Brown breeds.
Cross-breeding local chickens may result in some great features, and I want to try it.
Unfortunately, the rooster is still too young. It cannot mate with my brown hens yet. I think I will have to wait one or two months for the rooster to mature and be able to mate with the hens.
An incubator for 12 eggs is not expensive; it costs around 20 dollars. I plan to buy it using a 'buy now, pay later' service so I can pay for it over six months.
A local rooster is valued at around 10 dollars. This is one reason people in my country still raise local chickens because of their price. However, most people raise local chickens as a hobby, not as a business; they simply raise them to fill their free time.
Knowledge about chicken diseases is low, so when a disease strikes, some people just let the chickens die.
I have learned how to cure some chicken diseases, which is why my flock has been successful starting from DOCs (Day Old Chicks). I also prepare chicken medications to prevent several illnesses in my chickens.
The availability of medicine is very important to keep the chickens healthy. Knowledge about nutrition is also important because it will make my chickens healthy and highly productive.