Chicken Journal

I've been looking at making a homemade egg incubator, and this site appears to have everything, including the temperature and humidity needed to maintain incubation. It's like building a souped-up cigar humidor for gestating chickens.

The most important detail of the project would be maintaining a consistent temperature over 21 days, something that might be difficult in the wintertime when power outages can occur.

I'd like to hatch some of the Red's eggs, but I can't tell if the roosters have fertilized her yet. I see her hanging out with them, but I haven't seen the usual crazy rooster dance around her, followed by the frantic wing-flapping. From what I've seen so far, the whole process is usually over in about 20 seconds, so I may have missed it. I know the Bantam has been fertilized, because I've seen the roosters get on her. (It's not like I'm a pervert; they're really loud and hard to miss.) Since the Red is as big as the roosters, they may be intimidated by her. Who knows. I figure they're all genetically related, so it should work.

The problem I face is that I'd prefer to have more Reds. Knowing my luck, I'd end up with a bunch of Bantam roosters, which are useless except for making soup.

ETA: A little while ago I looked out the window and saw some wings flapping. It was one of the young roosters, and he was getting it on with the Red. I guess that answers my question.