Developing My Own Breed Of Large Gamefowl For Free Range Survival (Junglefowl x Liege)

[No Coop No Problem]

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I really like the blue one.

I was wrong about one of the remaining eggs pipping. It had a piece of egg shell stuck to it. Shortly I will candle those two eggs and if they’re duds, I’m going to clean the incubator and set 20 tonight of just the Sherman x Liege crosses.

Good luck to your blue. I have 37 chicks outside right now with broodies. The one and only chick we've lost this past month was the one blue. I assume it's simply camoflage

 

[cubalaya]

I think there are a lot of people who out of a well meaning compassion for animals get fooled into the idea that every living creature must be saved and nursed back to health. That is fine if the animal is your personal pet that you or your family has bonded with but it can be a detriment when it comes to breeding and improving the species/breed. I can't speak for hatcheries breeding practices or any chicken breeders for that matter, but I have witnessed goat breeders who medicate and vaccinate their breeding stock. While they test and cull for contracted diseases, I always felt that all the medicating could definitely be masking weaknesses that could have otherwise been selected against which in the end would completely negate the pharmaceutical approach to raising healthy animals.

dont hatch if you cant dispatch. thats what an old timer told me. now im the old timer. no sign of mareks for years. no respiratory either

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

Rough and unusual day on the farm.

I culled a pure Liege last night for Marek’s symptoms. It never fails, when dramatic temperature flux happens it will reveal the Marek’s infected birds. Temps went as high as 90F and as low as 35F in a 48 hour period.

Unrelated to my chickens, some experimental hogs got out of their electric when the fence shorted. My dogs killed one and the rest ran off into the woods. I suspect I won’t see them again.

But most unusually, I have a crop of chicks that are hatching a week late. Looks like it will be a good hatch. 7 days late. 21 days was last Friday. About half and half between Terrorfowl and Crackers. So the genetics are mixed and the genetics are not the cause of the delay. Either I miscalculated my set date or something went weird with the incubator. The Crackers are near 100% hatched this morning. I expect the terrorfowl to follow tonight. They usually come a day or two later. A text message I sent confirming the set as well as other cues I took to mark the date seem to prove that 21 days was in fact a week ago. Yet I can’t imaging having a healthy hatch so late. When I candled them over the weekend they were alive but appeared underdeveloped.

 

[Appalachian homestead]

But most unusually, I have a crop of chicks that are hatching a week late. Looks like it will be a good hatch. 7 days late. 21 days was last Friday. About half and half between Terrorfowl and Crackers. So the genetics are mixed and the genetics are not the cause of the delay. Either I miscalculated my set date or something went weird with the incubator. The Crackers are near 100% hatched this morning. I expect the terrorfowl to follow tonight. They usually come a day or two later. A text message I sent confirming the set as well as other cues I took to mark the date seem to prove that 21 days was in fact a week ago. Yet I can’t imaging having a healthy hatch so late. When I candled them over the weekend they were alive but appeared underdeveloped.

They'd be right on time for turkeys! Do you know if the temperature was normal or if the incubator could have malfunctioned and cooler than normal?

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

They'd be right on time for turkeys! Do you know if the temperature was normal or if the incubator could have malfunctioned and cooler than normal?

I suspect the problem is just that; that the thermostat is bad in the incubator and its falsely reading 99.5F while actually running lower. This is an old design Nurture Right 360. The auto turner long since stopped working when the part of the board controlling the timer reset went bad. But as it has historically maintained temperature, I’ve continued to use it as a manual turn incubator. When this hatch is done I’ll check the thermostat against a good thermometer. If it is running low, I’ll toss it.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

I should also note the incubator sat unused in my barn for at least 6 months. I believe I had it apart. There may be dust up in the unit interfering with the thermostat.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

I got 15 out of 18 on the most recent hatch. Not bad considering the odd circumstances. The incubator is sterilizing now. Later tonight I’ll test its temps. I have another 20 about half-way done and another 25-26 to set.

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

How's Sherman's chicks doing?

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

How's Sherman's chicks doing?

They seem to be doing fine. 3 from 2 weeks ago and another 9 from this hatch. 20 more cooking.

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

Nice, I just found you short on youtube.