8 males and only 1 female hatched - and how to solve high humidity

[CassiesChicks]

My past two hatches have been much lower percentage rate than previously. I used to get 26 to 27 eggs hatching out of 30 in my MalticoopX - but my last two hatches have been only 20-21 out of 30. I haven't been able to solve the high humidity though - because it has been unusually humid here. it has been as high as 65 - which I know is way too high. So I don't know how to adjust that. Then with this last hatch, I started eggs from my new Comets - and 5 didn't hatch, of the 9 that hatched I got 8 males and only 1 female. Is it because of the humidity being too high? Or is it my young rooster? Thanks for any help (picture is Comets with Cream Legbars - 8 white males, one red female Comet)

 

[nuthatched]

The genders of the chicks are decided by the dams genes at fertilization, how have you decided that you chicks genders?
Have you tried dry hatching?

 

[Debbie292d]

A lot of people use that brand of incubator. Do you have the instruction manual? If you don't, Google the make/model and you should be able to find one, or one of us can if you aren't able to. You should be able to adjust the humidity on that.

Humidity is an average over days, so saying we want it to be at 50%, and one day it's up to 65%, that's not going to hurt them.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I started eggs from my new Comets - and 5 didn't hatch, of the 9 that hatched I got 8 males and only 1 female.

Where did you get those Comets? Do you know which hatchery they came from so we can look at their genetics? What can you tell us about the father, breed or color-wise?

"Comet" is just a marketing name, it really doesn't tell us that much but it usually means they are a red sex link. If one parent is a sex link you cannot use them to make the same type of sex link. You cannot go by down color if the parent was a sex link.

The genders of the chicks are decided by the dams genes at fertilization

Yep, humidity has nothing to do with it. The father's genes has nothing to do with it.

 

[CassiesChicks]

Where did you get those Comets? Do you know which hatchery they came from so we can look at their genetics? What can you tell us about the father, breed or color-wise?

"Comet" is just a marketing name, it really doesn't tell us that much but it usually means they are a red sex link. If one parent is a sex link you cannot use them to make the same type of sex link. You cannot go by down color if the parent was a sex link.




Yep, humidity has nothing to do with it. The father's genes has nothing to do with it.

Hi - I'm confused now. I got them from Meyer Hatchery and they call them "Golden Buff" - and yes they are a sex-linked hybrid. I thought if I bred a sex-linked rooster with the same breed sex-linked hen, I would get sex-linked chicks. But apparently I am wrong. In the description I read "This breed is a hybrid. Hybrids are created by crossing two different parents and will not breed true." The reason I wanted to breed these chickens is because I want to be able to identify the chicks' sex when they hatch. I have had success with my Cream Legbars - and have been breeding them for over a year. I can "generally" tell the sex from the feathers. But not always. Thanks for any help on this.

 

[FrostRanger]

Hi - I'm confused now. I got them from Meyer Hatchery and they call them "Golden Buff" - and yes they are a sex-linked hybrid. I thought if I bred a sex-linked rooster with the same breed sex-linked hen, I would get sex-linked chicks. But apparently I am wrong. In the description I read "This breed is a hybrid. Hybrids are created by crossing two different parents and will not breed true." The reason I wanted to breed these chickens is because I want to be able to identify the chicks' sex when they hatch. I have had success with my Cream Legbars - and have been breeding them for over a year. I can "generally" tell the sex from the feathers. But not always. Thanks for any help on this.

The sexlinking trait doesn't breed true. If you want an autosexing breed that does breed true try cream legbars

 

[CassiesChicks]

The sexlinking trait doesn't breed true. If you want an autosexing breed that does breed true try cream legbars

Thank you - I do breed cream legbars. Are there any other autosexing breeds that will breed true?

 

[OnlySympathy]

Thank you - I do breed cream legbars. Are there any other autosexing breeds that will breed true?

Bielefelders breed true and are autosexing

 

[Debbie292d]

Thank you - I do breed cream legbars. Are there any other autosexing breeds that will breed true?

Some silkies. Such as if you put a black hen with a chocolate rooster, the offspring will be black or chocolate. All of the blacks are males, and all of the females are chocolate.

I've had people ask me for a black carrying chocolate rooster a few times. Those are nice as they are multi-purpose for breeding purposes.

 

[Ridgerunner]

In the description I read "This breed is a hybrid. Hybrids are created by crossing two different parents and will not breed true." The reason I wanted to breed these chickens is because I want to be able to identify the chicks' sex when they hatch.

The first post in this thread tells you about sex linked chickens and gives details on how to make some of the more common ones. A sex linked chicken is one that you can tell at hatch the sex of the chick.

Sex- linked Information | BackYard Chickens - Learn How to Raise Chickens

To simplify, you have certain requirements to make a sex link. The mother has to have the dominant sex link gene, the father has to have only the recessive sex link gene and you have to be able to tell the difference at hatch.

For example, with a red sex linked chick like yours, the pullets hatch with red down and the cockerels hatch with white down. But if the chicks are solid black or solid white due to different genetics you cannot see the differences.

This is probably not what you want because for this to work you would have to keep a pure red rooster and pure silver hens. You cannot use the offspring to make red sex links. The genetics of the mother and the father have to be lined up a special way and once you cross them the genetics are no longer lined up properly in the offspring.

There are a very few breeds that are autosexing. The two most common are the Cream Legbar and the Bielefelders, already mentioned. I'm not familiar with them so you'll have to learn how to tell the difference yourself or from someone else. With the autosexing chickens as long as you breed them to others of the same breed every generation will be autosexing.

I have had success with my Cream Legbars - and have been breeding them for over a year. I can "generally" tell the sex from the feathers. But not always. Thanks for any help on this.