5th Annual BYC New Year's Day 2014 Hatch-A-Long

[ronott1]

I have also been reading this entire thread and I am not hatching either. Just living vicariously.

We had a lot of Guests watching us hatch!

It was great to have your support!

 

[GerbilsOnToast]

The stress is WAAAY lower with a hen.
I think they do it well because they've been doing it for thousands of years - it's just nature. We just started in the last couple hundred years so we humans are still trying to learn.

I agree with your first sentence, but to avoid misinformation - Egyptians first figured out artificial incubation sometime between 750 & 500 BC, so we've been working it for a couple thousand years. The hens, however, have no need to research, and the egg and incubation process evolved to match their bodies and natural behaviors, so it's literally a no-brainer for them!. The fact that we fit it in around our 'real lives' while they unplug and dedicate their entire being to the process probably doesn't hurt their success rate, either, LOL

 

[ESofVA]

Only 1 egg was fertile and it died in the shell after lockdown.

My poor roo just isn't interested right now and my hens don't seem to be either. I also probably need another roo so I have ordered a few Salmon Faverolles, which is the same breed as my roo. He is a nice roo and I like their temperaments. I only have 1 Faverolles hen and I call her Miss Busybody. I don't name most of my egglayers and don't show them a lot of attention. I will give one a stroke if it happens to be near...they don't really want to be touched but she tolerates more. My "playtime" I spend with the bantams...love them. Miss Busybody is always poking her "nose" in to whatever I am doing. When I clean nest boxes as soon as I am finished one she gets in it and rearranges the bedding. After I finish the 2nd box she gets into it and does the same thing and so on until the "beds" are all made up! Doesn't matter what I am doing in the pen,...she is right there and I even have to make her get out of the way so I can actually do it!

 

[Cynthia12]

I did not currently join this hatch-a-long because I was not intending on hatching eggs. My duck hen was hatching some. but in the morning of hatch day she had pips and for some reason stepped on the eggs and crushed them. I rescued 2 eggs and put them in the bator I candled them one they warmed back up. One was infertile and this little duckling hatched in the afternoon of New years day. I think that it is a little girl an Indian runner.

 

[Aphrael]

This is completely off topic but thought it make everyone smile this morning

Meet Calista she is a last year frizzle Cochin silkie cross. This was right after her first molt.

Awwww!!

She is so round and fluffy and CUTE!

I did not currently join this hatch-a-long because I was not intending on hatching eggs. My duck hen was hatching some. but in the morning of hatch day she had pips and for some reason stepped on the eggs and crushed them. I rescued 2 eggs and put them in the bator I candled them one they warmed back up. One was infertile and this little duckling hatched in the afternoon of New years day. I think that it is a little girl an Indian runner.

Ducklings are SO darn cute!! I love 'em.

Only 1 egg was fertile and it died in the shell after lockdown.

My poor roo just isn't interested right now and my hens don't seem to be either. I also probably need another roo so I have ordered a few Salmon Faverolles, which is the same breed as my roo. He is a nice roo and I like their temperaments. I only have 1 Faverolles hen and I call her Miss Busybody. I don't name most of my egglayers and don't show them a lot of attention. I will give one a stroke if it happens to be near...they don't really want to be touched but she tolerates more. My "playtime" I spend with the bantams...love them. Miss Busybody is always poking her "nose" in to whatever I am doing. When I clean nest boxes as soon as I am finished one she gets in it and rearranges the bedding. After I finish the 2nd box she gets into it and does the same thing and so on until the "beds" are all made up! Doesn't matter what I am doing in the pen,...she is right there and I even have to make her get out of the way so I can actually do it!

Awww. Sorry you didn't get any to hatch. Your hen sounds completely adorable. I've been drawn to faverolles ever since I first saw some and your description of her makes me want some even more.

 

[ronott1]

Only 1 egg was fertile and it died in the shell after lockdown.

My poor roo just isn't interested right now and my hens don't seem to be either. I also probably need another roo so I have ordered a few Salmon Faverolles, which is the same breed as my roo. He is a nice roo and I like their temperaments. I only have 1 Faverolles hen and I call her Miss Busybody. I don't name most of my egglayers and don't show them a lot of attention. I will give one a stroke if it happens to be near...they don't really want to be touched but she tolerates more. My "playtime" I spend with the bantams...love them. Miss Busybody is always poking her "nose" in to whatever I am doing. When I clean nest boxes as soon as I am finished one she gets in it and rearranges the bedding. After I finish the 2nd box she gets into it and does the same thing and so on until the "beds" are all made up! Doesn't matter what I am doing in the pen,...she is right there and I even have to make her get out of the way so I can actually do it!

That is sad! You may need to try AI. We worked on this a bit last year. One thing that worked was to separate the boy from the girls for several days. Keep them close enough to see each other and then put him in for a day. Keep doing this for a couple of weeks and see if the eggs are fertile.

 

[Cynthia12]

Only 1 egg was fertile and it died in the shell after lockdown.

My poor roo just isn't interested right now and my hens don't seem to be either. I also probably need another roo so I have ordered a few Salmon Faverolles, which is the same breed as my roo. He is a nice roo and I like their temperaments. I only have 1 Faverolles hen and I call her Miss Busybody. I don't name most of my egglayers and don't show them a lot of attention. I will give one a stroke if it happens to be near...they don't really want to be touched but she tolerates more. My "playtime" I spend with the bantams...love them. Miss Busybody is always poking her "nose" in to whatever I am doing. When I clean nest boxes as soon as I am finished one she gets in it and rearranges the bedding. After I finish the 2nd box she gets into it and does the same thing and so on until the "beds" are all made up! Doesn't matter what I am doing in the pen,...she is right there and I even have to make her get out of the way so I can actually do it!

Yes, Favorelles. They make good broody mamas too..at least the one I had did..but..she was a bantam. I have a friend who has a LF Favorelle..loves her also! Nice birds. You will get yourself a built in "incubator" once they are grown.

 

[GerbilsOnToast]

Just finished posting some pics of my babies in the photo contest thread, but wanted to post some here too for those of you who aren't following that thread. I am also including updated feather pictures...and if the feather sexing works for my chicks (two different sized rows being girls, same size being boys), then ALL my babies are GIRLS!!! That's only if the speed of the growth is not a factor, because some chicks had feathers that grew slower than chicks born afterwards. Let me know what your guesses are for the feathers! The red lines are the top row, green lines are the bottom row

Those are my babies!!!

They're beautiful!
Relative to feather sexing - the speed of growth is the ONLY factor. The technique is based on the rapid feathering gene's effect on the pullet; the gene is inactive in roos. Pullets with this gene hatch with two rows of feather shafts (and sometimes a bit of vane) already extended. That's why it's only valid for a few days - the gene ceases to exert an influence shortly after hatch, and they return to 'normal' feather growth rate - which is still pretty fast. The roos, who hatch with no visible feather, are still growing those feathers - just at a slightly slower rate than the accelerated female was experiencing pre-hatch. By the fifth day, the growth spurt the pullet experienced in her last few days of incubation is unnoticeable.

The reason feather sexing does not work with many crosses and exotics is because only one parent carried the rapid feathering gene, or possibly neither has it - therefore, statistically speaking, only half (or none) of the chicks will have it, making it unreliable - a roo will still NEVER have the feather shafts at hatch, but a pullet may or may not, depending on whether she inherited the gene. All standard breeds of large fowl carry the rapid feathering gene - this is why it works on them.

My call, based on your earlier photos (these are too late to be determinants) AND assuming that this breed is homozygous for the rF gene, is that the lighter colored bird, I believe it was your #3, is a pullet and the other three shown in that photo series are roos.

edited to correct typo & remove pics/shorten post

 

[JDchicks]

OMG! I just read this whole thing tonight and I have never hatched one egg in an incubator. Dang, there is a lot to know. All y'all did great. It was getting pretty stressful there around page 740 or so!! LOL. This website is so great, but fear I have a real chicken addiction sometimes.

Do you have your incubator yet? You have time for a test hatch before Easter. They we can work with you to fine tune your hatch!

for watching and cheering us on!

Oh, yes. Great Idea to test one out. I saw that there is a Valentine's Hatch-a-Long. I think it start on the 25th of January.


https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/845654/valentines-hatch-a-long

 

[JDchicks]

Put the chick into tea cup--big enough to sit in but not get out. Leave it in the incubator or Brooder in the cup until the egg yolk absorbs--usually a day.

Shipped eggs or temps a bit too low will cause this usually.

You will need to put medicine on the naval after the yolk is gone. Baby vitamin Drops--one drop on the beak twice a day until it perks up.

Watch for pasty butt too. Stress in hatching will cause it.

Congratulations!

I noticed you mentioned this before. Am I correct that this comes in a liquid form? Is it straight or does it need to be diluted? If diluted, what is the ratio?