Coronation Sussex Thread!

[Faraday40]

Update & Question:
Sadly only one of my shipped Coronation Sussex eggs hatched. Another was hatching & just couldn't get out. One out of 12 is my worst hatch ever.(8 made it to lockdown, so I was hoping for a handful....) 9 out of 10 of my backyard eggs hatched under the same conditions. (9 made it to lockdown & all 9 hatched. The 10th egg was clear from the start.)

The chick that made it out of the shell has a herniated navel, but is a fighter. I set it up in an separate brooder with a buddy. Both eat, drink, poop, & the navel is drying up & shrinking, so I'm hopeful. It's about 10 days old, still alive, & rather quick when it runs.

So my question now is: What are some of the early gender differences? I tried day old wing feather sexing in the past with little success. With my Orpingtons & Easter Eggers I only had 50% accuracy. By 3 weeks I'm usually able to get clues from slower feather development with thicker legs = males By 4 weeks some males would get pink combs & different feather patterns. This is my first & only Sussex, so I was wondering what others look for in this breed to predict sex.

Here's a pic of the little scrapper. On the small side. Very pale yellow fluff with white wing feathers coming in. No real tail yet.

 

[Southchick]

Just wondering if Coronation Sussex eggs take longer to hatch than other breeds.
Today's day 21.
8 out of 9 Easter eggers have pipped or already hatched.
0 out of 8 Coronation Sussex have pipped. (They were all good sized &/or moving when I candled on day 18.)

Anyone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe if there is too much inbreeding the hatch rate drops. It's important to have genetic diversity within. This can take a huge effort being that this breed is so rare in the US. I hope it works out for you!

 

[Faraday40]

Anyone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe if there is too much inbreeding the hatch rate drops. It's important to have genetic diversity within. This can take a huge effort being that this breed is so rare in the US. I hope it works out for you!

My daughter's experiment was to compare shipped eggs vs our backyard eggs to see the effect of shipping on hatch rate. Yes, I know there's a lot of uncontrolled variables, but for an 8 yr old, I thought it sounded like a fun idea to encourage. Our backyard eggs ranged from 85-90%. I was expecting about 50% for the shipped eggs but only got 8% (one chick) with the Coronation Sussex batch. What we found was most chicks developed fine & were moving around on day 18. They just never hatched out. Could that be from the genetics? Is there anything I could do to help them in future hatches?

I have to admit that I used my daughter's experiment as an opportunity to get a few new breeds from my own wishlist. These CS look so big & beautiful. I just wanted to see one in person. Our only CS chick is still in the house b/c of a herniated navel. I'm shocked it's alive & so feisty. I decided to keep it around until the navel scab falls off before putting it in with the rest.

 

[marquisella]

Quote: Usually when shipped eggs develop to the end but don't hatch, its because the air cell was broken during shipping. If the air cell is not intact, when they try to pip into it, its not big enough with enough air to keep them alive long enough to pip the shell, so they suffocate.

 

[Southchick]

Usually when shipped eggs develop to the end but don't hatch, its because the air cell was broken during shipping. If the air cell is not intact, when they try to pip into it, its not big enough with enough air to keep them alive long enough to pip the shell, so they suffocate. 

Probably true isn't it? I do know of rare chicken eggs that aren't shipped that will lend the same results so it's a mystery to me. :/

 

[Chicken Ducks]

What would you get if you crossed a Light Sussex with a Speckled Sussex?

 

[Fancychooklady]

Here's my silkie momma raising her coro a BLRW chicks.

 

[pginsber]

Update & Question:
Sadly only one of my shipped Coronation Sussex eggs hatched. Another was hatching & just couldn't get out. One out of 12 is my worst hatch ever.(8 made it to lockdown, so I was hoping for a handful....) 9 out of 10 of my backyard eggs hatched under the same conditions. (9 made it to lockdown & all 9 hatched. The 10th egg was clear from the start.)

The chick that made it out of the shell has a herniated navel, but is a fighter. I set it up in an separate brooder with a buddy. Both eat, drink, poop, & the navel is drying up & shrinking, so I'm hopeful. It's about 10 days old, still alive, & rather quick when it runs.

So my question now is: What are some of the early gender differences? I tried day old wing feather sexing in the past with little success. With my Orpingtons & Easter Eggers I only had 50% accuracy. By 3 weeks I'm usually able to get clues from slower feather development with thicker legs = males By 4 weeks some males would get pink combs & different feather patterns. This is my first & only Sussex, so I was wondering what others look for in this breed to predict sex.

Here's a pic of the little scrapper. On the small side. Very pale yellow fluff with white wing feathers coming in. No real tail yet.

How is the little scrapper doing now?

 

[Faraday40]

How is the little scrapper doing now?

S /he is looking better now that the feathers are coming in. (2 weeks yesterday.) Has wings & a tail. The roommate is 100% but still inside to keep company. They seem a bit skittish, but I think it's because "the hand" only comes to apply antibiotic ointment.

 

[Faraday40]

I just took these pics.
For now, it seems like she's/he's going to make it, but it may take a while for the umbilical hernia to heal. Other than keeping it separated & ointment once in a while (when I can remember it), I haven't done much.
Here's Hope at 15 days old. Does the growth & feathering seem about right for the age & breed?