Black Copper Marans

[RuralWriter]

I've been reading and reading all about hatching out BCMs. This is my first BCM hatch, ever. First incubate and hatch in over 15 years, actually. So I'm on day 21, because I'm not counting the day I put them in as a full day. It was afternoon.

There are 9 BCMs and 4 Pekin eggs. The Pekins are a day behind the BCMs and I began with 8. 2 never developed, one was a blood ring, and then a quitter 4 days ago. The rest were fine last I checked on lockdown for BCMs.

Yesterday I had a chirp in a BCM. No pip, but that little guy or gal is chirpy! I know BCMs can have a hard time hatching out, so I'm going to help it if need be when the time comes (I've had good results with that when I raised chickens in the past).

I did get worried about humidity and put a shallow dish of water in. I'm trying to keep between 55 and 65 percent, then entire incubation has been at 30-40 until yesterday.

Any tips I may have missed while looking around in here? I've read conflicting things about humidity and heat :/ Using a styrofoam incubator with an automatic turner (turner is out for hatching). I think it is a Farm Innovations? I forget, not in the same room :-D

 

[chicken-whisperer]

This is what works for my BCM hatches. First start at 100 degrees dry for a week, add humidity to 30% second week and raise it to 80 to 90% at lock down. My Marans eggs lose less moisture than other eggs and we have had losses with to much moisture as chicks drown in the shell when with barnyard eggs that hatch well. Of course everyone does it different and with weather changes, methods may be modified. Most folks hatch at 99.7 but I have heard the big hatcheries go to 103, so has anyone verified the temperature used at the large breeders.

 

[lazy gardener]

I am happy keeping my temp just a bit over 99.5. I'm happy if my temp stays around 100 to 100.5 in my forced air. That's measured at the warmest point.

 

[RuralWriter]

7 of 9 were not viable. One died in the shell- not shrink wrapped. The other died overnight half out of the shell.

I'm pretty bummed.

 

[ochochicas]

Sorry to hear about the incubating trouble. It sounds like you may have had a bad batch of eggs. I think if the parents are related or inbred too much it will affect the chicks' development.

I've hatched out Marans eggs both in my incubator and with a broody. Out of probably two dozen total eggs I think there was only one that didn't hatch. I hope you will try again!