Advice on low hatch rates.

[KatsHerd]

Would love some advice.
I am a small chicken breeder in Australia.
I have literally *just* began selling again this season, a bit early with it being winter however it doesn't get very cold where I live & days are still warm. Chooks are laying amazingly & fertility is good!
1 cage I am having concerns about. They are Speckled Sussex, confirmed great hatch rates & fertility usually.
1st lot to hatch were a half/half dozen, so 6 of these eggs I'm having issues with. The buyer told me that only 1 out of 6 hatched & she apparently had to put it down as its stomach didn't form/close over. Unsure exactly what this means, she didn't provide photos.
2nd lot to go was a dozen of the affected eggs. They had 3 hatch. This person is another breeder I know quite well. She runs very good incubators in a temperature controlled room.
3rd lot was another half/half dozen, so 6 again. She had 3 or 4 hatch - unsure why she got better numbers?
I have a batch of them on for myself to test run, currently day 9 & all growing at this stage (but apparently any that have had issues they have died between days 17-hatch day.
Have obviously put a pause on selling these eggs after hearing from customers. ALL customers were local & none were posted. Some drove a distance to get them, but surely a car ride wouldn't have that ill of an effect.
All eggs sold were from 2nd year hens, no pullet eggs.
What the heck is happening?

 

[KatsHerd]

Sorry, I was wrong on that one. Some of them had the chicks pass in the eggs at about day 14. So day 14 till hatch day (one had one pass while zipping out).

 

[Perris]

what are you feeding the parents? Are they on a breeder ration or something else?

 

[KatsHerd]

what are you feeding the parents? Are they on a breeder ration or something else?

We do pullet grower with added calcium on the side. I don't do layer feed for the roosters, but have never seen issues like this

 

[Perris]

You need to have the parents on a breeder ration (not starter, not grower, not layer; BREEDER). The eggs are probably missing some micronutrients that are not essential for day-to-day living of a short-lived bird (6 weeks for a broiler / grower; 2 years max for a layer) but absolutely are essential for creating a complete new body from scratch, which is what an egg has to do.

Both parents, not just the hen. The semen needs to be properly nourished as well as the egg.

Or you can try making your own. I do. I get excellent hatch rates. If you are interested you can look up my articles on feed and the one on broodies which has my stats.

 

[KatsHerd]

You need to have the parents on a breeder ration (not starter, not grower, not layer; BREEDER). The eggs are probably missing some micronutrients that are not essential for day-to-day living of a short-lived bird (6 weeks for a broiler / grower; 2 years max for a layer) but absolutely are essential for creating a complete new body from scratch, which is what an egg has to do.

Both parents, not just the hen. The semen needs to be properly nourished as well as the egg.

Or you can try making your own. I do. I get excellent hatch rates. If you are interested you can look up my articles on feed and the one on broodies which has my stats.

Thank you, everything I've read has said to avoid layer feed & breeder feeds I've found in Australia all market themselves as Breeder Layer Feed. Would the calcium not become an issue for my roosters, then?

 

[Perris]

Thank you, everything I've read has said to avoid layer feed & breeder feeds I've found in Australia all market themselves as Breeder Layer Feed. Would the calcium not become an issue for my roosters, then?

I doubt it if they're only on it for a couple of months, one before the breeding season and then only as long as you're collecting eggs for hatching, but then again I have no idea what breeder layer feed may or may not contain in Australia. There is a reason I make my own feed. And it provides everything every bird needs life long.

All these tailored commercial feeds are designed to get maximum output at minimum cost, so they leave out whatever is not necessary for that particular type of bird at that particular time. The pros have it finessed down to a few weeks of whatever then another change. You don't need to ape big ag. There are easy alternatives.

 

[KatsHerd]

I doubt it if they're only on it for a couple of months, one before the breeding season and then only as long as you're collecting eggs for hatching, but then again I have no idea what breeder layer feed may or may not contain in Australia. There is a reason I make my own feed. And it provides everything every bird needs life long.

All these tailored commercial feeds are designed to get maximum output at minimum cost, so they leave out whatever is not necessary for that particular type of bird at that particular time. The pros have it finessed down to a few weeks of whatever then another change. You don't need to ape big ag. There are easy alternatives.

Thank you, you've been very helpful. Will definitely be doing some research & feeding them better!

 

[SnackMeat]

I doubt it if they're only on it for a couple of months, one before the breeding season and then only as long as you're collecting eggs for hatching, but then again I have no idea what breeder layer feed may or may not contain in Australia. There is a reason I make my own feed. And it provides everything every bird needs life long.

All these tailored commercial feeds are designed to get maximum output at minimum cost, so they leave out whatever is not necessary for that particular type of bird at that particular time. The pros have it finessed down to a few weeks of whatever then another change. You don't need to ape big ag. There are easy alternatives.

Is this the link?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...eat-tears-a-calculator-or-deep-pockets.78655/

 

[Down Under]

It's not the feed, I know breeders still getting good results using Barastoc Golden Yolk. It sounds more like a vertically transmitted disease to me given what you know about the other breeders incubator setup.