Yup! Just like that! Didn't get as much sleep as I needed and my body hurts bad today. Plus my hubby is nagging me because the garden isn't in, but he hasn't even tilled yet. Now it's raining, so tilling won't get done. Um ok I think somebodies ADHD is in full swing today. Must be a day for playing with he turkeys.are you having one of these !
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John, My wording of "hatched chick" was meant to convey that I've had many develop but not actually hatch. This is a problem that obviously has nothing to do with fertility or incubation. The fact that my own eggs hatch but shipped eggs don't makes me believe it is the shipping that is the problem. I think the embryo itself is getting damaged enough that, in many cases, it doesn't develop at all, or if they do, do not have the ability to hatch.
I brought eggs home to Illinois from caj and Roosterlane from Arkansas in March. Of the eggs that developed (meaning enough to go to the hatcher, not blood rings/early quitters), five of five hatched from caj and one died shortly after (very small and never up and about in incubator), and four of four hatched from Pauletta. The eggs from caj were shipped from Ft Smith on Wed, arriving at my daughter's home in Little Rock on Thur. The eggs from Pauletta I got directly from her on Fri, so no shipping involved. On Sat, the eggs were packaged to ride home and traveled in the trunk for the 10+ hours in a place that they could not shift around. It was March so no hot temps were involved and freezing temps were only when we got close to home but the eggs were never subjected to freezing temps. Eggs were the first thing out of the car and into the house. I turned on the incubator and got it up to temp and rested the eggs all day Sunday. The eggs went in on Monday.
I take the risk of shipped eggs because many of the breeds available here on the swap are not available around me. Hatching two Norwegian Jaerhorn chicks from 8 eggs that cost me an $18 Paypal is well worth it to me. If I factor in the number of chicks I've gotten total to the Paypal total.........it's disheartening, to say the least.
I am learning who I can get eggs from that seem to have a better chance of producing chicks. I think some "lines of travel" are easier for whatever reason.
Shipments from the NE (madam and puglady) produced many early quitters and no chicks.
Shipment from CA (debs_flock, 2 swaps) produced many no developers and blood rings, some later quitters, no chicks.
Shipment from AR (groundpecker 2 swaps) many no developers or blood rings, no chicks.
Shipment from NC (rayndebi) 3/15.
Shipment from TN (RMRippy multiple swaps/side swap) 15/49.
Shipment from TN (TNBEARCHICK 2 swaps) 1/15.
Shipments from WI (Amyable) 2/8 and (flocksalot) 4/14.
Shipment from OK (krazykat) 2/6.
To end on a happy note......here is my Icelandic hen (that hatched the two aforementioned Norwegian Jaerhorn chicks from Amyable) showing them what foraging is all about....
edited cuz I can't spell Norwegian....
alot of em still go by it today
low pressure or planet alignment. I don't understand all that stuff but apparently there are some that do.
AND I agree the 17$+ I paid in paypal fees per swap ( or my own eggs) is well worth it to me if I get lets say a pair from madams Bresse to hatch!!!! 2/21 eggs....so 17 x 3 sets =51$ for a pair that can produce its own chicks is well worth it to me...That goes for all my swapped eggs...If I can't get a pair to hatch then for Pete's sake, I pray I get a pullet to be able to lay an egg and have pretty eye candy!!!
