Catskill Homesteader Breeding Project

[draye]

It was ok, considering breeder pens hadn't been set up yet. Started up 70 eggs, 13 eggs were infertile, 55 went into lockdown & 45 chicks hatched. So, that equals out to 81% fertility, and of the eggs that went into lockdown, 82% hatched. But, the total hatched vs total set was only 64%.

A fairly descent hatch. I usually only count the total fertile eggs in my total hatch percentage.

 

[myfivegirls]

@draye - yes, I usually only count the fertile eggs for hatch percentage. Actually, this time I had a few extra eggs under broody hens (not included in the total), but about a week before the hatch, the hen forgot which nest she was on, so the eggs got cold. Yet, 3 chicks still hatched (4 but one hatched early, fell out of nest & died), and I think there was 10 eggs total. Usually the hens have a much higher hatch %, but I was gone all day & left the door to the "broody nesting box" open, hence why she was able to switch nests.

Not the best photo, but the 49 total chicks that hatched (one assisted chick, zipped 3/4 around but then membrane dried out + broody hatched chicks)
were adopted by 2 broody hens & they're raising them in the outside brooder coop with the help of a "mama heating pad".



A few of my favorite chick down patterns that are unique:

I've had several similar to this hatch before, where the "chipumunk" stripes are in blue, not black.


Small yellow headspot


Kind of reminds me of certain red sex links, but it also looks to have a big white "headspot",
but it's hard to tell if it's just the "chipmunk" stripe pattern or not.


Obviously blue-based, yet it's restricted to the middle, with the distinct line on its head & halfway down its back.

 

[draye]

@draye - yes, I usually only count the fertile eggs for hatch percentage. Actually, this time I had a few extra eggs under broody hens (not included in the total), but about a week before the hatch, the hen forgot which nest she was on, so the eggs got cold. Yet, 3 chicks still hatched (4 but one hatched early, fell out of nest & died), and I think there was 10 eggs total. Usually the hens have a much higher hatch %, but I was gone all day & left the door to the "broody nesting box" open, hence why she was able to switch nests. Not the best photo, but the 49 total chicks that hatched (one assisted chick, zipped 3/4 around but then membrane dried out + broody hatched chicks) were adopted by 2 broody hens & they're raising them in the outside brooder coop with the help of a "mama heating pad". A few of my favorite chick down patterns that are unique: I've had several similar to this hatch before, where the "chipumunk" stripes are in blue, not black. Small yellow headspot Kind of reminds me of certain red sex links, but it also looks to have a big white "headspot", but it's hard to tell if it's just the "chipmunk" stripe pattern or not. Obviously blue-based, yet it's restricted to the middle, with the distinct line on its head & halfway down its back.

Nice colored chicks.

 

[pioneerchick816]

@myfivegirls
Your chicks are great! Very cute. I'd can't wait to see what the ones with the silver chipmunk stripes will look like as adults

 

[Paganrose]

Wow! love this thread! I want to do something simular with my backyard flock- just need a different rooster than the super crossed beak SLW I have! I want colorful birds, who are winter hardy, lay reasonable well with colored eggs, forage well, and are winter hardy!

 

[myfivegirls]

@myfivegirls
Your chicks are great! Very cute. I'd can't wait to see what the ones with the silver chipmunk stripes will look like as adults

I know, even the "plain" chipmunk striped ones are often hiding different colors & patterns, so that's what is so fun about this. Nearly 3/4 of the chicks have "chipmunk stripes", but the colors vary. Some I can tell they're "blue-based" b/c there's no black stripes. Others, they look like a yellow chick at first, but there's vary faint stripes visible.
At hatch, I usually take photos of each chick, their wing band # & write a description in my hatching notebook. It takes awhile, but then if I later want info on them, I can trace it back easily.

Wow! love this thread! I want to do something simular with my backyard flock- just need a different rooster than the super crossed beak SLW I have! I want colorful birds, who are winter hardy, lay reasonable well with colored eggs, forage well, and are winter hardy! 

Thanks for stopping by & saying hi! Yes, I liked my SLW & GLW hens I had, but they didn't impress me with their laying or body size. I always joked the GLWs were more concerned with preening & looking pretty. They were before my hatching days & the one GLW rooster I later had turned out to be a runt & the few offspring he had ended up being culled due to multiple "defaults" (all were hatchery birds).
Yet, I've often toyed with the idea of trying a few Wyandottes again but from a breeder who knows what they're breeding for, etc. But,m, I've been making enough progress with what I have already, that the only reason now it'd add Wyandottes now is for the rose comb & if I needed fresh unrelated blood.

But, for someone starting out, I'd say start with good Wyandottes from a breeder & you'll probably get further faster.

 

[myfivegirls]

Some of the chicks are growing wing feathers super fast! Others, barely have feathers on the wing tips.

 

[Paganrose]

Thanks! The wyandottes I had before I loved! They were fairly big, but good at forging, occasionally went broody, were alert and we not continually in my garden. My first EE's and CM's were horrible garden pests- They kept jumping a 7' fence to eat almost 200lbs of tomatoes that year! The first flock I had for 5 years- a mix of cuckoo Marans/GLW cross, Wyandottes, Buff orps, Cochin, and Jersey Giants/Australorps. The first year was a big learning curve! Found out the hard way not to let the aggressive unknown breed Rooster sire chicks! Ended up culling many aggressive teens! The Roos that I kept were a CM/GLW mix with the rose comb. I also ended up getting rid of my original EE's and CM's since they were so flighty, unfriendly, small bodied, didn't do well in the cold, and never laid colorful eggs. After a few years My Friends were constantly asking for hatching eggs since they always survived and foraged so well!

I started over with a new flock last spring, after taking a 2 year break, we had major predator problem and needed to take the time to fix up the coop. Beaker is the only Roo that survived after a bunch of daytime coon and fox issues, We need to have a roo to be an alert system here, so we kept him even though in any other circumstance I would have culled him. Other than the beak, He is an Excellent Roo! My Current hens are 2 EE's -these ones are better behaved, although not friendly and are better conformation and lay pretty blue eggs. 2 Welsummer are similar to the EE's but do lay a darker spotted eggs. Also have 2 Light Brahmas, an Australorp, a Cochin, and a Barred Rock. I am going to be adding a couple of each- Austra Whites, Buff Orps, New Hampshire, BLRW and Dominiques, to my Flock for more variety of genetics. Eventually I want to get a couple olive eggers and Black Copper Marans also!

 

[myfivegirls]

Oh, for those interested, I also post photos of the Catskill Homesteader Chickens on Instagram
and Facebook, so while there's often "repeats", sometimes I'll only post to one place.
Here's a few that I just posted.

 

[pioneerchick816]

@myfivegirls
Looking good on Instagram