B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

[Urbanfarmerkc]

Quote:
There are a whole bunch of them here in Kansas City... Just a few hours from you!!!!

Sorry about your hatch problems... I know how disappointing that is.

Dave

 

[Urbanfarmerkc]

Quote:
Yes they are
It seems this year for me, I am getting more males than females. Shame I have some beautiful young SGD roos from old traditional lines that will go to the processor.

There is no shame in that... they are supposed to be DELICIOUS!

 

[RareBreedFancier]

Quote:
I feel your pain with hatching lots of roos. My barnyard mix chicks I wanted to keep as layers are 8wo now, 1 pullet, 2 ? (hopefully pullets) and 13 roos.

 

[TOL Chick]

Quote:
Yes they are
It seems this year for me, I am getting more males than females. Shame I have some beautiful young SGD roos from old traditional lines that will go to the processor.

There is no shame in that... they are supposed to be DELICIOUS!

They are!

 

[tgrlily]

Quote:
Last year I hatched nothing but males!

I don't know if it was an incubator issue or some strange genetic fluke.

 

[Allsardane]

Probably not hugely relevant, but here is a link to a Patent from 1996.

http://www.google.com/patents?hl=en&lr=&vid=USPAT5575237&id=52wdAAAAEBAJ&oi=fnd&dq=Mark+Ferguson+of+the+University+of+Manchester+sexing+chickens&printsec=abstract#v=onepage&q&f=false

Effectively- This researcher found that reducing the temperature to a specific point for a specific amount of days could change about 10% of the male eggs into biologically functional females. This was done in an attempt to discover a means of guaranteeing 100% of broiler chickens hatched end up being roosters. The same professor postulated that it should be possible to use temperature to change genetically male eggs into females, but no patent or article (on chickens, but there are for reptiles and a type of australian bird) was easily found.

In truth- The temperature change is most effective when it lasts for 18-42 hours and is only suggested to be able to change 1 out of every 10 eggs, so unless you inadvertently found the perfect temperature for sex-manipulation, temperature probably didn't have much to do with the quoted all-male egg hatching but one of those male chickens should probably be playing the lottery before he gets too tasty.





Quote:
Last year I hatched nothing but males!

I don't know if it was an incubator issue or some strange genetic fluke.

 

[tgrlily]

Interesting!!
I actually had temperature fluctuations mostly on the high side as I started hatching LF eggs pretty late last year. I had 3 styrofoam bators then, now I use a sportsman. I'll continue hatching Dorkings & possibly Silkies for awhile, but I'm done setting any other breeds for the season.

Quote:
Last year I hatched nothing but males!

I don't know if it was an incubator issue or some strange genetic fluke.

 

[HappyThieves]

BABIES!!! They are soooo sweet!

And the big girls LOVE them like little sisters.

 

[TOL Chick]

Quote:
So have you changed your mind about keeping them, now that you see how PRECIOUS they are?!? Congrats!

 

[BeccaOH]

This is the trio I currently have (from Colored eggs), but I have Silver Grey chicks coming from McMurray next week and an egg order in for Rosecomb Reds.