Black Penedesenca Hatching Eggs

[ronott1]

Hi! Wondering if you ship to California?

Are you under any restrictions due to vNew Castle disease?

 

[OCeggs23]

Are you under any restrictions due to vNew Castle disease?

I am in Orange County. We are not under any restrictions but I know several places are not shipping to a large group of zip codes within Southern California, even though we specifically are not under restrictions.

We have a very small backyard flock and haven't needed any additional ladies for the past couple years. However we just lost our lovely Welsummer and our Wynadotte has gone broody - so we feel like the universe is telling us we can hatch a couple babies. I'm only looking for a few eggs because we'd only like to increase our flock by 1 or 2 girls. Maybe 4 eggs? I'm not sure if you'd ship an amount that small.

 

[ronott1]

I am in Orange County. We are not under any restrictions but I know several places are not shipping to a large group of zip codes within Southern California, even though we specifically are not under restrictions.

We have a very small backyard flock and haven't needed any additional ladies for the past couple years. However we just lost our lovely Welsummer and our Wynadotte has gone broody - so we feel like the universe is telling us we can hatch a couple babies. I'm only looking for a few eggs because we'd only like to increase our flock by 1 or 2 girls. Maybe 4 eggs? I'm not sure if you'd ship an amount that small.

Hopefully @ChickenCanoe will be on here soon and maybe get you some hatching eggs!

I would get a dozen eggs since shipped egg often hatch at 50%

 

[OCeggs23]

Hopefully @ChickenCanoe will be on here soon and maybe get you some hatching eggs!

I would get a dozen eggs since shipped egg often hatch at 50%

Oops, sorry - didn't see I wasn't replying to @ChickenCanoe.

Wow a dozen you think? My husband might have a heart attack if he sees a dozen eggs come in. We have 5 girls and want to keep it under 8. You really think a dozen would be best/

 

[Kajoda929]

Your hatch rate will definitely not be 100%, especially with shipping eggs. Out of the 25 eggs I recieved, 17 went through to lockdown and are awaiting hatch, but there are still factors that mean even some of the ones left may not make it. The reason it is recommended to get more, especially with shipping hatching eggs, is because hatch rate drops significantly over eggs that your own hens may lay or that you pick up from a hatchery or breeder yourself. If you only purchase the amount you want to hatch, you may end up with only one or even none and what happens if the one or couple that hatch are roos? You always have the possibility of selling or culling extras if need be, but it's more difficult to try to get more and go through the whole process again. Hopefully that makes more sense on the reasoning behind purchasing more hatching eggs

 

[ronott1]

Your hatch rate will definitely not be 100%, especially with shipping eggs. Out of the 25 eggs I recieved, 17 went through to lockdown and are awaiting hatch, but there are still factors that mean even some of the ones left may not make it. The reason it is recommended to get more, especially with shipping hatching eggs, is because hatch rate drops significantly over eggs that your own hens may lay or that you pick up from a hatchery or breeder yourself. If you only purchase the amount you want to hatch, you may end up with only one or even none and what happens if the one or couple that hatch are roos? You always have the possibility of selling or culling extras if need be, but it's more difficult to try to get more and go through the whole process again. Hopefully that makes more sense on the reasoning behind purchasing more hatching eggs

Perfect answer! The hope is that purchasing a dozen will get the three pullets that they want.

I process the extra roosters and it is very easy to sell pullets

 

[BroodyHuman]

Your hatch rate will definitely not be 100%, especially with shipping eggs. Out of the 25 eggs I recieved, 17 went through to lockdown and are awaiting hatch, but there are still factors that mean even some of the ones left may not make it. The reason it is recommended to get more, especially with shipping hatching eggs, is because hatch rate drops significantly over eggs that your own hens may lay or that you pick up from a hatchery or breeder yourself. If you only purchase the amount you want to hatch, you may end up with only one or even none and what happens if the one or couple that hatch are roos? You always have the possibility of selling or culling extras if need be, but it's more difficult to try to get more and go through the whole process again. Hopefully that makes more sense on the reasoning behind purchasing more hatching eggs

How'd your hatch go?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I am in Orange County. We are not under any restrictions but I know several places are not shipping to a large group of zip codes within Southern California, even though we specifically are not under restrictions.

We have a very small backyard flock and haven't needed any additional ladies for the past couple years. However we just lost our lovely Welsummer and our Wynadotte has gone broody - so we feel like the universe is telling us we can hatch a couple babies. I'm only looking for a few eggs because we'd only like to increase our flock by 1 or 2 girls. Maybe 4 eggs? I'm not sure if you'd ship an amount that small.

Sorry I missed this whole conversation. I ship anywhere in the US and territories, at least I have up to this point. I'll probably be shipping again by the end of January or early February.
Other's advice is well founded. Having more chicks emerge than one desired is much less of a problem than having fewer than one needs and have to go through the process all over again and delaying by a month or more when you had originally planned on having new birds or eggs.

 

[Kajoda929]

How'd your hatch go?

Of my first hatch, two survived, but passed later, due to what I was told were genetic health problems. My second hatch, three survived of twenty three and are all ok so far. They are definitely weaker than all of my others and one is still black and white at 5 months old...

 

[Chicken Homesteader]

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Hatching eggs from my flocks of this extremely rare breed.
The eggs will come in the special foam egg shippers pictured above.
Shipping and foam cost for up to 25 eggs is $20 in the continental US.
Eggs are $4 each up to 15 eggs. 16-25 eggs are $3.50 each.
I will need about 3 days advance notice to collect eggs for you depending on how many you want.

Penedesencas are not yet in the APA.
All four varieties, (Black, Crele, Partridge, Wheaten) as well as White Empordanesa were imported into the US around 2000.
The two breeds, Penedesenca being from Penedes and Empordanesa being from Emporda, are two regions of the autonomous community of Catalonia in Spain on the French border near Andorra.
Penedesencas and Empordanesas are the only breeds with white earlobes and lay a brown egg. They are also the only breeds with a carnation comb (also called a clavel and kings comb)
They are ancient breeds and were still a hodgepodge of colors as late as 1900 with black and partridge being prominent. The first known documented writing about the breed was in 1920 when efforts were made to conserve and standardize them. There were quite a few farms that raised them but fell out of favor when interest turned to new foreign breeds.
By 1980 they were nearly extinct. At that time, veterinarian Antonio Jordá visiting area farms and farmers' markets, made a collection of fertile eggs and adult specimens until he gathered a population of about 300 hens from which Dr. Amadeus Francesch standardized into the 4 Penedesenca varieties today of Black, Crele, Partridge and Wheaten.
The Black is the DP variety being about a pound or two heavier than the other three, which are egg varieties.
The black was long renown for the flavor of its meat. There is now an annual festival in Villafranca, Catalonia called Fira del Gall (Fair of the Rooster) and the Black Penedesenca is the star of the show. It is a foodie and wine affair. Penedes is the oldest wine region of Europe.
The festival dates back to medieval times but was declining in popularity till 1984 when it was reborn with the reemergence of the Black Penedesenca.
The fair is held the last weekend before Christmas and people come from far and wide to buy the bird for their Christmas dinner - a Black Penedesenca rooster. In 2014 the fair celebrated the 20th anniversary of bringing the bird back from the brink of extinction.
Sadly, Dr. Amadeu Francesch Vidal died last summer. He was very helpful trying to get the birds distributed around the world.
In Spain, the black variety has been toyed with to make it a larger meat bird. In the process, it lost the dark egg and the white lobes. So now there is the 'improved' and the classic black. The classic is the only one in the US and the variety I raise.

I would love to get some of these eggs from you this summer. How do I go about contacting you to do so?