Howdy!
First timer here on Backyard Chickens, but not gonna lie.. Been creepin the site for some time now so I don't feel like a total newbie!
So I have my first dilemma...
I've been hatching chicks for a friend of mine since November (just did the last batch until Easter time as it's getting to cold to hatch chicks right now and let play outside). I've had several successful hatches! I tossed one of my chickens eggs in there to see if it would hatch. It did, came out to be a male though. POO!
So I decided that this next round, we were going to hatch a mixture of my chickens eggs (never hatched them before other than that one egg) and his chickens eggs.
Well, the eggs he gave me are coming out mostly females with a couple males. No biggie!
Mine however........ Different story. I have gotten mostly males and maybe 1 female out of my batch! I hatched about 10 chicks, got only 2 females. So the first timer was a male, and the next big batch I hatched from mine are still males.
Does this happen often? I have tried to do some research and saw something with hatch rates and different temperatures the fertile eggs are stored at, females can handle lower temperatures than males. Most of the eggs I hatched were either still warm from the hen when I pulled to set aside for incubation. Others were probably around 60 to 50 degrees. Nothing colder though. I let the eggs sit out for 6 days before placing into incubation. I checked the humidity, temperature, etc, but I know how the X and Y Chromosomes work in mammals, but as far as how a chicken chromosomes are determined before an egg is made, I am totally in the dark on!
Do I need a different rooster? If so, I can give my rooster back to the person who I received it from, or sell it. That isn't a problem. I have a 9 week old rooster that is merging in with my existing flock. No issues have happened, but I have a rooster that can do the job when Spring comes. Or........ Is it the hens that are causing the chicks to be males and not the male chromosomes? (IE - don't hatch chicks from these hens... wait till my pullets start laying and use their eggs?) Does the age of the hen matter? I do not know how old my Barred Rocks are as I was given them from a distressed farm.
Thanks guys!!
First timer here on Backyard Chickens, but not gonna lie.. Been creepin the site for some time now so I don't feel like a total newbie!
So I have my first dilemma...
I've been hatching chicks for a friend of mine since November (just did the last batch until Easter time as it's getting to cold to hatch chicks right now and let play outside). I've had several successful hatches! I tossed one of my chickens eggs in there to see if it would hatch. It did, came out to be a male though. POO!
So I decided that this next round, we were going to hatch a mixture of my chickens eggs (never hatched them before other than that one egg) and his chickens eggs.
Well, the eggs he gave me are coming out mostly females with a couple males. No biggie!
Mine however........ Different story. I have gotten mostly males and maybe 1 female out of my batch! I hatched about 10 chicks, got only 2 females. So the first timer was a male, and the next big batch I hatched from mine are still males.
Does this happen often? I have tried to do some research and saw something with hatch rates and different temperatures the fertile eggs are stored at, females can handle lower temperatures than males. Most of the eggs I hatched were either still warm from the hen when I pulled to set aside for incubation. Others were probably around 60 to 50 degrees. Nothing colder though. I let the eggs sit out for 6 days before placing into incubation. I checked the humidity, temperature, etc, but I know how the X and Y Chromosomes work in mammals, but as far as how a chicken chromosomes are determined before an egg is made, I am totally in the dark on!
Do I need a different rooster? If so, I can give my rooster back to the person who I received it from, or sell it. That isn't a problem. I have a 9 week old rooster that is merging in with my existing flock. No issues have happened, but I have a rooster that can do the job when Spring comes. Or........ Is it the hens that are causing the chicks to be males and not the male chromosomes? (IE - don't hatch chicks from these hens... wait till my pullets start laying and use their eggs?) Does the age of the hen matter? I do not know how old my Barred Rocks are as I was given them from a distressed farm.
Thanks guys!!
