6th Annual BYC New Year's Day 2015 Hatch-A-Long

[MrsBrooke]

I put my two LO hens and the rooster I want chicks from right now in a separate breeding pen to find out once and for all exactly which eggs are theirs. They are still laying bantam sized eggs!!!

Is this normal for orpingtons who will be a year old on NYD? The eggs are also strange. The shells often have small creases or wrinkles and the insides are weird. The yolks are normal, but the white are about half gelatinous mass around the yolk and half thin and runny like water. Do you think there is any chance these could hatch, and does anyone have any ideas what would cause this?

I'll try to get pics of the shells in a bit and post them up.

Have they been laying very long, or did they just start?

The wrinkles and creases are caused (usually) by the body pressing against the egg as it is forming. It can also be something hinky with their calcium intake... Unsure.

I'd be interested to see the whole and cracked egg! I tried Googling for half runny albumen, but nothing really came up like you describe. I know that certain illness cause really runny whites.

Did it look like this?



MrsB

 

[tommysgirl]

Ron! You rock.

So speaking of air cells. I have some BLRW in the bator now - one has it's air cell on the side, weird, huh? These were not shipped eggs.

I have one like that too. It was fine at 1 week when I candled but at 14 days the air cell was just like that. Also non shipped, just hand carried from my own coop into to house for collection and back out again to my broody girl. I am going to mark the air cell tomorrow...Day 18 so I can keep track of which egg it is. Hope both our side saddle chicks hatch well!

Not shipped?? Wow, that is strange. Ron really likes the carton method. He has good success with it.

I can't imagine what caused it either and since mine is under a broody I can't put it in an egg carton, well I could but Julie Taylor might take exception...she is the the frizzle on the left. The eggs she is sitting on came from the silkie on the right who is my HAL broody. The daddy of those eggs is



The guy on the left...his daddy is a white silkie and his mama a MF D'Uccle. Curious and excited to see what we get on Saturday

If I lived closer to you I would likely share. I do share with BYC members in Norther California. I hatch for them too.

Yep Ron is super generous with his knowledge his skills and his birds...he is only allowed 6 you know

 

[Compensation]

I will be joining for fun, not I interested in the contest part but will testing out the new incubator.

 

[ronott1]

Well, I've finally caught up on reading everything. I've been sick and not on the computer much at all. So I fell pretty far behind. I was beginning to think I'd have nothing but my own eggs to put in the incubator. I lost an auction for 10 LOs. Then I lost another auction for 24 SFH. I was feeling pretty dispirited, but thought I'd look one more time even though I knew there wouldn't be any more ending in time. Lo and behold! There was an auction for 10 SFH that was only put on for a few hours, and from a seller I've been wanting to try out too! I made darn sure I didn't lose that one!

They shipped this morning, but the seller is in Oklahoma, so not too far from me. So hopefully they'll make it in time to be set on the 11th. Haven't counted how many of my own LO and SFH I've collected.

I put my two LO hens and the rooster I want chicks from right now in a separate breeding pen to find out once and for all exactly which eggs are theirs. They are still laying bantam sized eggs!!!

Is this normal for orpingtons who will be a year old on NYD? The eggs are also strange. The shells often have small creases or wrinkles and the insides are weird. The yolks are normal, but the white are about half gelatinous mass around the yolk and half thin and runny like water. Do you think there is any chance these could hatch, and does anyone have any ideas what would cause this?

I'll try to get pics of the shells in a bit and post them up.

No, that is not normal.

Contact @casportpony for help--some of what your are describing comes from capilary worms and they are a bit harder to get rid of.

There is also an illness that can cause the problems you are seeing too.

You need to work on flock nutrition too.

Let me know if you need more help but Cathy is very good at dosage and etc. for worms.

 

[MrsBrooke]

No, that is not normal.

Contact @casportpony for help--some of what your are describing comes from capilary worms and they are a bit harder to get rid of.

There is also an illness that can cause the problems you are seeing too.

You need to work on flock nutrition too.

Let me know if you need more help but Cathy is very good at dosage and etc. for worms.

I'm so glad you're here.

MrsB

 

[domesticzoo]

I didn't know this was a contest? I thought we where just a bunch of OCD's (obsessive chicken disorder) who wanted to celebrate New Years with chicks and a glass of wine! LOL!

 

[draye]

When do we reveal how many eggs we are setting?

 

[ronott1]

I'm so glad you're here.

MrsB

Thanks!

I love to help.

 

[ronott1]

I didn't know this was a contest? I thought we where just a bunch of OCD's (obsessive chicken disorder) who wanted to celebrate New Years with chicks and a glass of wine! LOL!

It is all of that too!

 

[Aphrael]

Have they been laying very long, or did they just start?

The wrinkles and creases are caused (usually) by the body pressing against the egg as it is forming. It can also be something hinky with their calcium intake... Unsure.

I'd be interested to see the whole and cracked egg! I tried Googling for half runny albumen, but nothing really came up like you describe. I know that certain illness cause really runny whites.

Did it look like this?



MrsB

They do look a little like that. But usually the thick part is a little more globby looking. No they didn't just start they have been laying for a while now.

No, that is not normal.

Contact @casportpony for help--some of what your are describing comes from capilary worms and they are a bit harder to get rid of.

There is also an illness that can cause the problems you are seeing too.

You need to work on flock nutrition too.

Let me know if you need more help but Cathy is very good at dosage and etc. for worms.

Ok, I'll message her. Is it likely that only those two would have the worms or the illness? They are normally in the main flock with the other birds, and they all lay big, beautiful, perfectly uniform eggs.

I'm unsure what else I can do to increase nutrition. They are given wheat and BOSS sprouts in the morning. They freerange all day (although the pickings are slimmer this time of year), and then are given fermented feed in the evening before they go to roost. The FF is 1/2 Layena Layer Pellets (16% protien, high calcium) and 1/2 Bryant flockraiser type (24% protien, low calcium). They also have free choice oyster shell, all eggshells are fed back to them (they much prefer these to the oyster shell

) and they have unfettered access to the compost pile. Oh, and ACV in their water.

Haven't gotten pics of eggs yet. Will do so after I have dinner.