BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[holm25]

@Desertchic I would defiantly consider keeping Junior around for some breeding... Nice looking cockerel so far!

 

[dfr1973]

Chicks have been hatching yesterday and this morning. I tried to keep the offspring of the breeding groups separate - thought I was being clever here - by using the bottoms of strawberry containers. Problem #1 is that once they get their feet under them halfway decent, they can either jump out or in. Problem #2 is I can only put 4 max per container, because 5 is too crowded for the chicks to push out of the shell. I just helped 3 out of the shell, but one of them didn't absorb the yolk properly, so two. I usually don't help chicks out, but I think this was my bad as opposed to weak chicks (except the one). One I had moved out of the container, and it broke out of the shell but the membrane had dried to it so I put it under warm water to get the membrane loose. It's trying out the jump in/out idea now.

I had the toe punch and scale ready, and was going to mark these little monsters then let them grow and select my keepers without regard to the toe punch. Well, half of that is how it's going to be. I have chicks from three of the breeding groups, I just can't count them just yet. I have a couple from Tiny x the Pretties (F1), Azar x the Sisters (Tiny x Flashy Girls) (F2) and Bigfoot (Tiny x the Flashy Girls) x Feyd's Daughters (Feyd x Big Butt Girls) (full F2).

Even with all these issues, this is still a better hatch than my last try, which has yielded only one pullet (Feyd's last hatch after a predator got him, this is also a F2, from the Sisters). The weather was still warmer than normal when I collected and set these eggs. I also still have older hens in molt, and danged if we don't have yet another possum - I've already trapped 5 now. Just how big is this backwoods crime family? And why couldn't they stick to moonshinin' and bootleggin'?

I have 30 more eggs waiting their turn. Yesterday, when I mentioned I should order a few extra egg trays for the turner, hubby said he figures I might as well just buy a whole nother incubator setup. LOL - he knows me so well!

ETA: Forgot to mention, one of Feyd's daughters from the March hatch (x Big Butt Girls) is broody and has quite a few eggs under her. So far she looks determined to go the distance., and it's been just shy of a week. I had a couple Silkie hens trying the same prior to this one, but they quit when the weather turned last week, pretty much the same day she started. Fingers crossed here.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Chicks have been hatching yesterday and this morning. I tried to keep the offspring of the breeding groups separate - thought I was being clever here - by using the bottoms of strawberry containers. Problem #1 is that once they get their feet under them halfway decent, they can either jump out or in. Problem #2 is I can only put 4 max per container, because 5 is too crowded for the chicks to push out of the shell. I just helped 3 out of the shell, but one of them didn't absorb the yolk properly, so two. I usually don't help chicks out, but I think this was my bad as opposed to weak chicks (except the one). One I had moved out of the container, and it broke out of the shell but the membrane had dried to it so I put it under warm water to get the membrane loose. It's trying out the jump in/out idea now.

I had the toe punch and scale ready, and was going to mark these little monsters then let them grow and select my keepers without regard to the toe punch. Well, half of that is how it's going to be. I have chicks from three of the breeding groups, I just can't count them just yet. I have a couple from Tiny x the Pretties (F1), Azar x the Sisters (Tiny x Flashy Girls) (F2) and Bigfoot (Tiny x the Flashy Girls) x Feyd's Daughters (Feyd x Big Butt Girls) (full F2).

Even with all these issues, this is still a better hatch than my last try, which has yielded only one pullet (Feyd's last hatch after a predator got him, this is also a F2, from the Sisters). The weather was still warmer than normal when I collected and set these eggs. I also still have older hens in molt, and danged if we don't have yet another possum - I've already trapped 5 now. Just how big is this backwoods crime family? And why couldn't they stick to moonshinin' and bootleggin'?

I have 30 more eggs waiting their turn. Yesterday, when I mentioned I should order a few extra egg trays for the turner, hubby said he figures I might as well just buy a whole nother incubator setup. LOL - he knows me so well!

ETA: Forgot to mention, one of Feyd's daughters from the March hatch (x Big Butt Girls) is broody and has quite a few eggs under her. So far she looks determined to go the distance., and it's been just shy of a week. I had a couple Silkie hens trying the same prior to this one, but they quit when the weather turned last week, pretty much the same day she started. Fingers crossed here.

Go chickies! I haven't hatched a lot, but that's something I really struggle with thinking about is effective separation during hatching to keep track of breeding pairs/groups. I tried it once, in baskets - thought I was so clever. And they all just jumped all over the place regardless. If I had been able to sit there and observe the whole hatch in person (foregoing sleep), I might have been able to keep track of them as they dried off, but I went to sleep and woke up to an incubator full of chicks bouncing all over the place.

Besides only hatching one breeding pair/group in a given incubator/at a time, or maybe hatching matings from two breeds if you're doing that (so you can tell them apart), are there other ways folks have been able to keep the chicks from different pairings separate when using an incubator? (If I can't, that negates an awful lot of planning!!!)

- Ant Farm

 

[GabrielBane]

I split my incubators evenly depending on how many distinguishable breeds I'm doing weekly.

Typically stuff like barnyard mixes or crosses that I'm unsure of I'll hatch mixed, but if I'm hatching anything where I have to keep track, I'll typically pair light downed hatchlings with dark downed hatchlings lol

 

[DesertChic]

So far I've been in the "never sleep" category during most of my hatches, which I always arrange to hatch over the weekend when I'm not working, but I'm seriously considering purchasing a second incubator. So far I've been very lucky in my tracking, but now that I've decided to try breeding to SOP I can see things becoming more complicated.

 

[Kev]

pin or rubber band something over the baskets. window screening, cheesecloth or....

if possible, make wire cages out of hard ware cloth.. you can use zip ties for the sides and pins for the tops for easy break down or customizing between hatches.


for single eggs, ladies stockings. put one egg in and tie off ends, of course give enough space for the chick to get out of the egg.

 

[dfr1973]

Besides only hatching one breeding pair/group in a given incubator/at a time, or maybe hatching matings from two breeds if you're doing that (so you can tell them apart), are there other ways folks have been able to keep the chicks from different pairings separate when using an incubator? (If I can't, that negates an awful lot of planning!!!)

- Ant Farm

Heh - nice to know I'm not the only one to underestimate the bounciness of new chicks. I didn't cut the lids off the other four strawberry containers, so next hatch they are getting put in with the tops firmly snapped down. Hopefully, lids are all I need on the containers to contain these bouncing balls of chicken cuteness.

Prior to this, I'd hatch from only one breeding group and round out the batch with Silkie eggs, but right now I want to focus on my GLWs - I am quite excited to see how the F2s grow out.

 

[lpatelski]

Yesterday was the 1 week old weigh-in for my last hatch and this little guy:




... Yeah, this one's blowing me away. He hatched out at only 1.16 ounces but after one week has grown by a whopping 207% and now weighs 3.56 ounces. I'm 98% certain this is a cockerel based not only appearance, but also on behavior. This was the first bird to come from my big boy, Monty, and I'm very pleased so far with the results.

The nice size leg bones says cockerel to me.

 

[NanaKat]

 
Chicks have been hatching yesterday and this morning.  I tried to keep the offspring of the breeding groups separate - thought I was being clever here - by using the bottoms of strawberry containers.  Problem #1 is that once they get their feet under them halfway decent, they can either jump out or in.  Problem #2 is I can only put 4 max per container, because 5 is too crowded for the chicks to push out of the shell.  I just helped 3 out of the shell, but one of them didn't absorb the yolk properly, so two.  I usually don't help chicks out, but I think this was my bad as opposed to weak chicks (except the one).  One I had moved out of the container, and it broke out of the shell but the membrane had dried to it so I put it under warm water to get the membrane loose.  It's trying out the jump in/out idea now.

I had the toe punch and scale ready, and was going to mark these little monsters then let them grow and select my keepers without regard to the toe punch.  Well, half of that is how it's going to be.  I have chicks from three of the breeding groups, I just can't count them just yet.  I have a couple from Tiny x the Pretties (F1), Azar x the Sisters (Tiny x Flashy Girls) (F2) and Bigfoot (Tiny x the Flashy Girls) x Feyd's Daughters (Feyd x Big Butt Girls) (full F2).

Even with all these issues, this is still a better hatch than my last try, which has yielded only one pullet (Feyd's last hatch after a predator got him, this is also a F2, from the Sisters).  The weather was still warmer than normal when I collected and set these eggs. I also still have older hens in molt, and danged if we don't have yet another possum - I've already trapped 5 now.  Just how big is this backwoods crime family?  And why couldn't they stick to moonshinin' and bootleggin'?

I have 30 more eggs waiting their turn.  Yesterday, when I mentioned I should order a few extra egg trays for the turner, hubby said he figures I might as well just buy a whole nother incubator setup.  LOL - he knows me so well!

Go chickies! I haven't hatched a lot, but that's something I really struggle with thinking about is effective separation during hatching to keep track of breeding pairs/groups. I tried it once, in baskets - thought I was so clever. And they all just jumped all over the place regardless. If I had been able to sit there and observe the whole hatch in person (foregoing sleep), I might have been able to keep track of them as they dried off, but I went to sleep and woke up to an incubator full of chicks bouncing all over the place.

Besides only hatching one breeding pair/group in a given incubator/at a time, or maybe hatching matings from two breeds if you're doing that (so you can tell them apart), are there other ways folks have been able to keep the chicks from different pairings separate when using an incubator? (If I can't, that negates an awful lot of planning!!!)

- Ant Farm 

Slip your baskets inside one of those plastic mesh bags like ones found on a grocery store ham or turkey or a bag of onions. Use a twist tie to close the open end of the bag. Chicks can move about in the basket, but not jump out. I've even used paper egg carton lids as baskets.

 

[GabrielBane]

All these great tips for later, gonna have to copy paste these posts into my reference folder.