Bresse Chickens

[ronott1]

This is pretty interesting. My friend raises broilers and he say eviscerating a broiler is much easier than eviscerating a heritage bird. Apparently, the broilers innards practically fall out on their own and a heritage bird needs more finessing. I look forward to hearing what he says about processing a Breese.

It is the age of the bird that makes the innards harder to get out. There is a big difference between less than 10 weeks and 21 weeks. Everything is tougher at older ages.

The older ones are much tastier though.

 

[PetRock]

We recently processed 39 roos and cockerels at our friends' farm. 20+ of them were 25 week old Barred Rocks, 3 were 1 1/2 yr old Silver Penciled Rocks, and the rest were 1 1/2 yr old Langshans. Our friends had processed Cornish X the week before. Since we have smaller hands, it was the women's job to eviscerate the birds. Lucky us! My friend Jenny was commenting on how much more difficult it was to eviscerate the older birds in comparison to the Cornish X. We will be processing our first Bresse next month. It will be interesting to see how they compare.

 

[juststruttin]

It is the age of the bird that makes the innards harder to get out. There is a big difference between less than 10 weeks and 21 weeks. Everything is tougher at older ages.

The older ones are much tastier though.

Oh that makes alot of sense. You're right, the broiler are processed around 8-10 weeks and the heritage are close to 5 months. Thanks

 

[cottagefarmgirl]

I am hatching some Bresse eggs, but they seem to be slow. They have been in the incubator for 3 weeks as of this coming Tuesday, but seem to be only about half incubated by the looks when candled. Is their incubation period longer? As I have said Tuesday will be day 21, but the embryo seems to be only to fill about half the egg and I see no movement. The veins are there and visible, and it looks like about a day 13 egg. Any advice?

 

[Darkangael]

I am hatching some Bresse eggs, but they seem to be slow.  They have been in the incubator for 3 weeks as of this coming Tuesday, but seem to be only about half incubated by the looks when candled.  Is their incubation period longer?  As I have said Tuesday will be day 21, but the embryo seems to be only to fill about half the egg and I see no movement.  The veins are there and visible, and it looks like about a day 13 egg.  Any advice?

Check your incubation temperatures sounds like they may be too low

 

[ronott1]

I am hatching some Bresse eggs, but they seem to be slow. They have been in the incubator for 3 weeks as of this coming Tuesday, but seem to be only about half incubated by the looks when candled. Is their incubation period longer? As I have said Tuesday will be day 21, but the embryo seems to be only to fill about half the egg and I see no movement. The veins are there and visible, and it looks like about a day 13 egg. Any advice?

Set them up for hatching. Unless the temperature was too low, they will hatch on time.

Your description is very normal for 17 to 18 days of incubation.

Sending happy hatching thoughts!

 

[Darkangael]

Btw listen to him first I have not yet hatched anything

 

[cottagefarmgirl]

Thanks. My temp has been pretty consistent, but the humidity is what I would worry about here. It has fluctuated but the hygrometer is for "reference only." I have ordered a better one for the future. Thanks for all the help and will keep you all posted.

 

[bayocum]

We use the Hovabator Genesis, it maintains a very regular temp at 99.5, with humidity at about 45-50 for the first 18 days, then about 55 for the last three. We've had extremely high hatch rates, averaging over 90% on viable eggs. For the money, it's a great table top incubator and much better than any of the cheaper models. I would agree that you should keep them going. They do not take a longer incubation period. Usually by day 18 or 19 ours are taking up most of the egg. That's about the time we put them into "lockdown." How much variance have you had in the humidity? Hoping for the best.
-Brice

 

[PetRock]

I am hatching some Bresse eggs, but they seem to be slow. They have been in the incubator for 3 weeks as of this coming Tuesday, but seem to be only about half incubated by the looks when candled. Is their incubation period longer? As I have said Tuesday will be day 21, but the embryo seems to be only to fill about half the egg and I see no movement. The veins are there and visible, and it looks like about a day 13 egg. Any advice?

My Bresse have all hatched a day earlier and some have even pipped on day 19. I have been using a Hovabator with the humidity at around 40 for the first 18 days and then 55-60 for the last 3.