Black Copper Marans discussion thread

[math ace]

Quote:
1/2 of the speckled sussex are out, but hardly any of the marans are out -- yet.

 

[sewandgrow]

Quote:
I think they do..infact I asked the same thing when mine were hatching..the last one..infact the one pictured..I completely hatched it all the way out, it was pipped for 30 some hours..just a little hole..and around that was rock hard membrane..so I thought what they heck, and did it myself

All my marans took longer from their pip to zip..then any of my other breeds..so I too asked the same thing

Xoxxo

I have speckled sussex and marans hatching together as we speak. . . . I'll report back in a day or two and tell you if I have noticed any differences.
The first chicks to pip were the speckled sussex, but they are not out yet! They pip today around 12. . . . Since then I am seeing some marans pipping to, but no one is out of the shells yet. LOTS and LOTS of peeping going on too.

The only observations I have made is that my Jumbo eggs take 24 hours more to hatch than normal size eggs. I just make sure they get thrown in a day earlier and it works out fine.

I have discovered that you can not, absolutely can not open the incubator. Any time I do, someone gets stuck in the shell and then I have to open it again and save them

I tend to stay busy now so that I don't watch them so much. . . . I cleaned my carpets today ( day 21) and tomorrow I am off on a little road trip to pick up a new roo. . . . . . It takes sooooooo long from pip to zip. Drives me crazy waiting

I "SO" agree with you Lisa about NOT opening the door to the incubator. I did that this time & had a waaaaaaaaaay better hatch rate. It is really hard to do though. My incubator has a full clear door so watching them pip, zip & hatch & not taking them out is hard. I waited til 15 of Harrys hatched before I opened it & maybe shouldn't even have done it then but the chicks that were out were all over the eggs that were left to pip & I worried they would have trouble with everyone on top of them....LOL. I couldn't see through the blue/green eggshells so I hadn't candled at all & didn't know what I had so I just had to wait it out. I ended up with 21 live hatched chicks 5 clear yolks & 4 that didn't make it out. I had ordered 24 Lavendar Ameraucana eggs & they were shipped to California from PA. I am so happy!!!!!!!!!!!! From now on I will not be opening the incubator after pipping until end of hatch.

 

[sewandgrow]

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I used Bev Davis' instuctions & I think I drown one chick that wasn't ready yet so I dropped the lockdown humidity by just 5 degrees & I think that was fine. I am sure Florida where she lives is more humid than us so I don't know how that works. It seems like it would be the opposite. It has all been a trial & error thing. SO much to learn & I love learning it!!!!!!

 

[sabella]

Quote:

Thanks! I recently added BOSS (black oil sunflower seed) and it has really made the blues' color pop. Made all the bird's shanks darker too. I made a page for the Chikin Trakter. Here 'tis. https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=80137-the-chikin-trakter I need to take new pics as the ones on the page were taken before we installed the pulley for the door rope.

 

[ihvpower]

Thank you..I was wondering if maybe reducing their calcium just prior to breeding them would/cou7ld make a difference..

 

[marquisella]

Quote:
I used Bev Davis' instuctions & I think I drown one chick that wasn't ready yet so I dropped the lockdown humidity by just 5 degrees & I think that was fine. I am sure Florida where she lives is more humid than us so I don't know how that works. It seems like it would be the opposite. It has all been a trial & error thing. SO much to learn & I love learning it!!!!!!

Its trial & error until you find what works for you. I think that Bev needs more humidity because the air conditioning is on a lot in Florida, and that dries out the air.

I have trouble with too much humidity for the Marans, and not enough for my other breeds. I'm trying now to find a happy medium. The last hatch I had, was still too wet for some of the marans, but a few did hatch ok. But, I had some shipped eggs in and it was too dry for them....it is a hair ripping out hobby! LOL

I haven't bought eggs & had them shipped in in years, so I';m thinking that they are drier than eggs one has from their own chickens. Unfortunately, when you use a large incubator with various breeds of eggs, its always going to be hit & miss, unless one just incubates one breed at a time.
Sue

 

[ChicksterJo]

I def. have one roo. Wish I could keep him! Here they are in their temporary housing..

 

[sewandgrow]

Quote:
I used Bev Davis' instuctions & I think I drown one chick that wasn't ready yet so I dropped the lockdown humidity by just 5 degrees & I think that was fine. I am sure Florida where she lives is more humid than us so I don't know how that works. It seems like it would be the opposite. It has all been a trial & error thing. SO much to learn & I love learning it!!!!!!

Its trial & error until you find what works for you. I think that Bev needs more humidity because the air conditioning is on a lot in Florida, and that dries out the air.

I have trouble with too much humidity for the Marans, and not enough for my other breeds. I'm trying now to find a happy medium. The last hatch I had, was still too wet for some of the marans, but a few did hatch ok. But, I had some shipped eggs in and it was too dry for them....it is a hair ripping out hobby! LOL

I haven't bought eggs & had them shipped in in years, so I';m thinking that they are drier than eggs one has from their own chickens. Unfortunately, when you use a large incubator with various breeds of eggs, its always going to be hit & miss, unless one just incubates one breed at a time.
Sue

There may be something to that. Just recently I had 2 batches of Ameraucanas due to hatch a day apart & set the humidity up for their lockdown & both batches hatched out really well, but again back to that"don't open the incubator door" thing. I did that this time too. I was ust happy for the good hatch & will try both things again with my next big hatch. I only have one small hatch coming up on the 29th & it's a breed I have never done before so we will see. Then I am back to Ameraucanas & Marans........LOL...too many others to mention...I think I need a 12 step program. I have become a hatchaholic...........LOL

 

[Hens and Roos]

Quote:
Its trial & error until you find what works for you. I think that Bev needs more humidity because the air conditioning is on a lot in Florida, and that dries out the air.

I have trouble with too much humidity for the Marans, and not enough for my other breeds. I'm trying now to find a happy medium. The last hatch I had, was still too wet for some of the marans, but a few did hatch ok. But, I had some shipped eggs in and it was too dry for them....it is a hair ripping out hobby! LOL

I haven't bought eggs & had them shipped in in years, so I';m thinking that they are drier than eggs one has from their own chickens. Unfortunately, when you use a large incubator with various breeds of eggs, its always going to be hit & miss, unless one just incubates one breed at a time.
Sue

There may be something to that. Just recently I had 2 batches of Ameraucanas due to hatch a day apart & set the humidity up for their lockdown & both batches hatched out really well, but again back to that"don't open the incubator door" thing. I did that this time too. I was ust happy for the good hatch & will try both things again with my next big hatch. I only have one small hatch coming up on the 29th & it's a breed I have never done before so we will see. Then I am back to Ameraucanas & Marans........LOL...too many others to mention...I think I need a 12 step program. I have become a hatchaholic...........LOL

So what is the recommended humidity with Marans eggs? When we hatch we try and keep the humidity around 55% at day 18 but this is the 1st time hatching out B/B/S Copper Marans.

 

[pinkchick]

Hi Everyone!!!!!


Hens~

This is your first time hatching out BBS Copper Marans and you went with my eggs that have been known to take their sweet time hatching....girl you've got guts and you must have the patience of Jobe.

Enggass had an excellent hatch with the eggs he got from me and it was his very first time ever hatching anything. I think he ran his hovabator around 60-65% during lockdown. Hopefully he will see this and set me straight and let us know what he ran it at.

I run my eggs at around 35% to 40% or a tad more during the first 18 days....then I up humidity to around 50-55% or so for lockdown and hatch, but, I also live in a very humid climate already and sometimes my incubator will run at 35 percent humidity without any water in it at all just because of the humidity in the room that the 'bators sit in. I would suggest for you, if possible to get the humidity up to around 60% or so if you can and try that during lockdown. I have not had good luck with them with high humidity, my experience with them at humidity higher than 60% the one and only time I ever got the hum. up that high was drowned chicks.

I hope you have a great hatch! Can't wait to see more fuzzies from Gnarles and Bill running around the country.