4th Annual BYC NYD Hatch-a-long

[Roxannemc]

I am forever quoting on the wrong post sorry!

Sally this would be good to keep.You have so many links to good articlrs wish You could compile them alphabetically and learning center put them up rather than liinks to forums where anyone is giving their opinion on a subject

Are rose combs dominant?  What do the hens have?  I read somewhere in a book on genetics that combs were handed down 50/50?

 

[NotAFarm]

Ok I am so confused with my chicks hatched. The only 2 roosters I had breeding when I set my eggs were a GLW and a Dominique, both rose combed. Somehow I managed to get chicks with single combs... How? I didn't think that was even remotely possible. Anyone got any ideas?

I don't know if anyone offered an answer to this but if your GLW or Dominique rooster came from a hatchery or someone who bred hatchery birds, they probably have something in their background that has a single comb. Rose comb is dominant but if the hens have a single comb and the rooster carries a single comb gene in his background, you will get single comb chicks. Single comb genes may be recessive but it is there and just waiting for a chance to find a match and express itself. Neither my DH or I have blue eyes, but both of our fathers did. Two out of our three children have blue eyes. Blue eyes are recessive and you need two copies of blue to make blue eyes. If dark eye gene "won" every time, blue eyes would have become "extinct" by now (at least among populations that have any other color besides blue), but they keep fighting for their right to be expressed.
I know this is a simplistic explanation but I hope it helps you understand why you have single comb chicks.

 

[Roxannemc]

Hello to you too and have a wonderful day!

Good morning everyone!!! Hope everyone gas a great Saturday.

 

[cbnovick]

I am cleaning the coop and run today...got the hen house done yesterday! Looking forward to a nice upper 60's day and sunshine here in AZ.

 

[missydcpc]

Emptied the bator this morning and my 2 chicks are having a grand old time running around...

 

[FeyRaine]

My two chicks spent their first night in the brooder and are doing great this am : )

No action on remaining eggs in bator, gonna leave them a few more hours, then clean, improve (to fix hot/cold spots)
and setting a new mixed batch of ducks & chicken eggs which I hope will be a happier experience.

My TOP TEN take aways from this hatch for me are:

1)Don't expect maran or maran x eggs until day 22 or 23, just don't even think about it and certainly don't worry prior to that.
(my only 100% natural hatched chick was pure maran out at 9pm day 23! NEVER peeped, piped to hatched in under 2 hrs.

2)For colored eggs - it is essential to put them in lockdown (unless smelly or oozing) no mater how dead you think they are via candle
(my only 100% naturally hatched chick, the surviving pure maran was from an egg I wrote down as dead on day 17 candle!)

3)If you have a way smaller bird, even one that is very active, do not leave it with a much larger chick, esp. if that larger chick is acting aggressive at all or if it is Maran or Ameraucana (or in my case a x of those), if in watching the chicks you think "maybe I should separate that little one" do it, do it right that moment, to hesitate is to risk losing the little one faster than you can grab it.

4)If you have a partly zipped egg and you have to separate it from aggressive chicks pecking it while you get some sleep, even if the overall humidity is over 70% DO keep it on the wet washcloth, even though it will stay wet after hatching, b/d otherwise it will dry out, get glued and exhaust itself while you sleep and you will lose it.

5)Even though they don't _need_ to eat or drink some chicks (Maran, Ameraucana) will start trying to eat everything they can peck w/in hrs of hatching, be prepared for that when you go into lockdown & set up so they will have something to keep them occupied other that their fellow eggs/chicks.

6)Never ever, ever use even the most stable reliable folding table for your bator, not even for a few hours. Murphy WILL find a way to cause it to collapse & send the bator crashing to the ground.

7) 2 Thermometers is not enough

8) In addition to everything you need for the eggs & chicks, when incubating one needs also : Tissues, fav. adult beverage or personal equivalent, ice cream, chocolate; failure to have these on hand will certainly lead to needing them!

9)Keep the cats OFF the bator, the temp. swings are just too much.

& MOST IMPORTANT

10) Never incubate alone, (esp. your first time) you MUST for your own sanity be on BYC, nothing else will help as much or make the inevitable worry, confusion and questions tolerable like being in a hatch-along on BYC

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO WAS A PART OF THIS NYD Hatchalong, even if you never posted, THANKS for being one of the 250 or so that I knew were in this with me, and to all those who read my saga, and esp. those who interacted w/ me
I wish you excellent chicken karma and great hatches in 2013 !

FeyRaine

 

[CasieD]

My two chicks spent their first night in the brooder and are doing great this am : )

No action on remaining eggs in bator, gonna leave them a few more hours, then clean, improve (to fix hot/cold spots)
and setting a new mixed batch of ducks & chicken eggs which I hope will be a happier experience.

My TOP TEN take aways from this hatch for me are:

1)Don't expect maran or maran x eggs until day 22 or 23, just don't even think about it and certainly don't worry prior to that.
(my only 100% natural hatched chick was pure maran out at 9pm day 23! NEVER peeped, piped to hatched in under 2 hrs.

2)For colored eggs - it is essential to put them in lockdown (unless smelly or oozing) no mater how dead you think they are via candle
(my only 100% naturally hatched chick, the surviving pure maran was from an egg I wrote down as dead on day 17 candle!)

3)If you have a way smaller bird, even one that is very active, do not leave it with a much larger chick, esp. if that larger chick is acting aggressive at all or if it is Maran or Ameraucana (or in my case a x of those), if in watching the chicks you think "maybe I should separate that little one" do it, do it right that moment, to hesitate is to risk losing the little one faster than you can grab it.

4)If you have a partly zipped egg and you have to separate it from aggressive chicks pecking it while you get some sleep, even if the overall humidity is over 70% DO keep it on the wet washcloth, even though it will stay wet after hatching, b/d otherwise it will dry out, get glued and exhaust itself while you sleep and you will lose it.

5)Even though they don't _need_ to eat or drink some chicks (Maran, Ameraucana) will start trying to eat everything they can peck w/in hrs of hatching, be prepared for that when you go into lockdown & set up so they will have something to keep them occupied other that their fellow eggs/chicks.

6)Never ever, ever use even the most stable reliable folding table for your bator, not even for a few hours. Murphy WILL find a way to cause it to collapse & send the bator crashing to the ground.

7) 2 Thermometers is not enough

8) In addition to everything you need for the eggs & chicks, when incubating one needs also : Tissues, fav. adult beverage or personal equivalent, ice cream, chocolate; failure to have these on hand will certainly lead to needing them!

9)Keep the cats OFF the bator, the temp. swings are just too much.

& MOST IMPORTANT

10) Never incubate alone, (esp. your first time) you MUST for your own sanity be on BYC, nothing else will help as much or make the inevitable worry, confusion and questions tolerable like being in a hatch-along on BYC

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO WAS A PART OF THIS NYD Hatchalong, even if you never posted, THANKS for being one of the 250 or so that I knew were in this with me, and to all those who read my saga, and esp. those who interacted w/ me
I wish you excellent chicken karma and great hatches in 2013 !

FeyRaine

 

[Brookhavens]

7) 2 Thermometers is not enough


FeyRaine

If you buy a few glass bulb thermometers 2 is all you will need. You can calibrate them before every hatch and know that they are reading correct. I bought 10 scientific thermometers off of ebay for $20. I only use 2 during lockdown-1 in the middle of the eggs and one on the wire mesh floor. They are calibrated (ice water) before each hatch. I do not trust the digital ones because of the high humidity we use during lockdown. I think over time that the electronic parts get too wet and either rust out or start giving false readings.

 

[202roosterlane]

So true. I find myself feeling your pain on a lot of those when I did the hatchalong last year. I did not do it this year because I remember how exhausted I was last time. But I was a chicken newbie. I think I stared into that little window of the bator for hours. I had the bators lined up on the floor, so my back was killing me getting up and down from the floor for 3 days. I think I had a heart attack when I witnessed my first egg wiggle. So I sat there on the floor thinking okay it's gonna hatch any minute. Well we all know now that it could be hoursssssss before they decide to hatch. I must have been exhausted because I fell asleep right there. I woke up a few hours later to the sounds of loud chirping and little chicks running around.

It was wonderful. I think I was just so relieved to know I must have batored correctly. Talk about exhaustion.

I promised myself not to ever to that again and just let Jesus take the wheel. LOL I see a lot of this when I read the 8000+ post. I am so tickled for you all. And I really love the chick pics.

Congrats to everyone on the pretty chicks.

 

[Peeps4me]

Quote: I love #8!

This is my first year having chickens and even though I didn't participate in the NYD hatch-along, I kept up with all the postings and want to congratulate everyone on their precious new chick's and send my condolences to those who lost little ones or had poor hatches. I feel that I learned a great deal with all the informative postings and will be ready to join you all for the Easter Hatch-Along.