Ameraucana thread for posting pictures and discussing our birds

[brahmabreeder]

There are some who after the wait 24 hour upon receipt of eggs, place them in the incubator and do NOT turn the turner on for the first seven days. After the Day 7 candling, the egg turner is then turned on & standard incubation procedures apply from that point.

I,too, may have to try this because I am receiving scrambled eggs through the Post Office. I had a horrible hatch of some blue wheaten ameraucanas and crested cream legbars. In the ameraucanas, 1/8 hatched and even worse in the legbars, 2/20 hatched. I have had some shipment of eggs where a minumum of 50% of air cells are completely detached.

I have had good hatches with shipped eggs after a few adjustments. (Good is over 50%). I have found that setting the eggs out for at least 12 hours to get to room temp and checking air cells critical. Treating them gently, I put them in the incubator as the air cells stabilizes. If they do not stabilize in 24 hours, I put them in the incubator and check them in another 24 hours. I mark the ones that are not stabilized and do not turn those for up to 6 days.I hand turn the ones that are stabilized. Daily checking the marked ones that have not stabilized. I date them when stable.

Sounds like I'll not turn the first 7 days and then after that check them all and any that have completely detached air cells I will just slightly turn. That way they don't get disrupted too much. Than any of the ones that are completely attached I will just turn like I normally would. Thanks for the info.

 

[jerryse]

I tried to post my dilemma on the ameraucana.org forum but it doesn't seem to have published... So I will ask the same here. If the subject is off topic I apologize.

My Silvers are 13 months old, the hens never laid last year. At least one began laying in Feb, and the other not until March sometime. I penned the Silver roo March 2nd in a 10x20 pen, with his two Silver hens and added 4 other hens in hopes that extra girls would spare anyone being featherless. That is working, my puzzle is this... There is some fertility with this rooster with at least one if not both blue hens. I am not getting much fertility with the Speckled Sussex but she is a young hen. The two Silver hens have yet to produce a chick. I am not incubating eggs from the SLWyandotte.
Eggs have been incubated by others for me and are using cheap still air styro bators. So at first I thought it was the incubation. But even with these bators some of the Blue Silvers are hatching. Not at a great rate, but some are hatching.
I was lent a Hovabator and just candled at day 11. Eggs from the bator donator are developing W/BW Ams), my Silvers and Blues are not...
I have a Brinsea Mini Advance that i fired up a couple days ago and am giving that a go.

The weather has sucked, been cold and a really slow spring here in Vermont. I usually collect eggs three times a day, have been keeping them around the 60 degree mark, tilting the eggs twice a day, feeding layer pellet with extra protein treats like sunflower seeds, meal worms, sometimes cat food, occasional scrambled eggs with coconut oil, and kelp. Apple cider vinegar with the mother in it in the water at a rate of 1-2 Tablespoons to a gallon, adding vitamin and electrolytes in water.

Are Silvers really this slow to develop? One is definitely still laying a pullet egg. I have not incubated very many of hers. The rooster is mounting and is not rough on the girls. He is attentive and does his job well.

I am so discouraged that I am considering un-penning them so they can free range again. They all pace the cage. I have eggs in three different bators at the moment. If nothing comes of these hatches are there any suggestions for what I can change? Or do I need to let them age a bit more?

I noticed in another post on infertility that some of you feed a 20% game bird feed or grower? Do you provide crushed shell for calcium since it's not a layer ration? I use Durvet vitamins and electrolytes because it's what is available locally. I use it at half strength because it seems to cause runny poops if full strength. I noticed in the other forum some of you use a supplement I didn't recognize.

Any help is appreciated and am hoping especially breeders of Silvers will share your knowledge and experience with me. THANK YOU!!!

Chris K

Try trimming the vent feathers on the rooster and hens.This is not a common problem for ameraucanas but in some bloodlines it is.I have a splash rooster I had to trim to get fertility.

 

[brahmabreeder]

That's what I have to do with my Brahmas so they can make the "mark" more easily.

 

[CibolaChooks]

Hi everyone. I'm having a dilemma . I have put other chicks out in the coup a cpl weeks ago. some were 4 weeks and some were 5. The nights get down to the low 40s and they have been fine. they don't look cold in the mornings but they are fully feathered . My 40 Ameraucana are a month old now but a strip down their chest, their necks and heads are not fully feathered. I would love to have them out of the brooder and running around. do you think with 40 degree nights i should trust my breeding stock to go out. I'm thinking with 40 they can keep their heads and necks warm but I'm not sure i should trust it.

 

[Fyremare]

Can you take out the rooster and add a different rooster for a bit? If so you can try that and then check fertility in a while if eggs are fertile....the current rooster is not.

Just had this problem crop up in one of my pens a really nice roo...DOING his job very well....no swimmers....sigh.

Camp kenmore here he comes. We have over 250 chickens....no unproductive Roos please....ok well maybe one or two.

I have no other Silver rooster, the other available is a Blue Wheaten. I know he is fertile from all the eggs hatched last year and some from this year.
What makes me think it's somewhat if not all the hens is that NONE of the Silver hens eggs are hatching. I will have to look back in my records to see if any of them sparked or not.
Also trying to figure out how to pen the BW roo so that the breeder pen birds can free range. I'm pretty sure they hate being in the pen even though there is plenty of room for 7 birds in a 10x20 space.
I am working on trying to do that because I would hate to go through clearing them again! Another thought has been to pen a couple of Silkie girls with him, take out the Wyandotte who is an older girl, maybe add in the young Splash and see if the broodies have better luck!
I have sacrificed opening some of the Silver hens eggs to check for fertility and figure if I have to scratch my head and say maybe... that they probably aren't.

The Blue hens that have been producing at 33% might actually have better fertility but incubation in a styro bator is part of the problem. I believe it's time to become more selective?

Thank you for your suggestions, I may try switching the roos ...

 

[DMRippy]

My first thought if NONE of the eggs from the hens HE is covering are fertile....it is him. Is he covering anyone else? If I am getting some fertile eggs from him, THEN I think the HENS are ups to something. Sometimes they just don't like the roo or they HIDE from him. I had some WL that just stayed in the coop and didn't come out. I don't think they liked my Wheaten roo. They are out running with the Lavenders

. Sometimes the roos need to LEARN what to do. If the hens are older and will not squat for him, I will put him with some younger girls that might be more willing to let him practice.

 

[delisha]

If you have fertility problems in your breeding pens (30% is a problem) you need to replace your Roo. (you should always have a back up roo)Give him a break on free range for a few months and try again, or freezor camp time. Some males do not do well on high protein and layer rations. The free ranging might get him back to norm.


Wyndotties have a predisposition to hold fat..I would consider holding those BOSS from them. Fat on a hen reduces the likely hood of years of healthy laying and fertility. It sounds like you are feeding a great feed.

I am sure you will have this figured out soon. Good luck and good hatching.

 

[kahlua]

If that's not white in his tail and one wing tip, he's definitely a keeper. There's a number of things you'll need to improve but start with what you've got and work from there. You're not gonna get a perfect bird and the WBS need a lot of work still. But there are a number of things I like about him.

Thanks everyone, I will hold onto him. His brother isn't as nice so I won't be keeping him. Although the brother has a nicer comb...

I am pretty sure it's not white, it was just the sun being super bright and my cell phone camera not being so great! Even his beard is not as white as it looks in the pics - I will try to get some with my "real" camera soon.

 

[dak]

Sounds like I'll not turn the first 7 days and then after that check them all and any that have completely detached air cells I will just slightly turn. That way they don't get disrupted too much. Than any of the ones that are completely attached I will just turn like I normally would. Thanks for the info.

Don't trust this nonsense. The first week is the most important for turning. It is OK to let shipped eggs sit to come up to room temp and settle a bit. Look at real research, not BYC rumor.

 

[unkadan]

Don't trust this nonsense. The first week is the most important for turning. It is OK to let shipped eggs sit to come up to room temp and settle a bit. Look a real research, not BYC rumor.

thanks