DELAWARES, Barred Rock *** PIPS AND ZIPS ***

[tnchickenut]

Quote:
A Columbian Rock is a Plymouth Rock with the Columbian pattern. Plymouth Rocks come in a few varieties... not just the barred.

Yes, Delawares are a extremely good choice for a small farm. I love it when someone buys my hatching eggs and after they hatch I get a email saying something to the effect of "wow, those chicks grow fast!" It makes me smile every time. And, yes, they don't eat much feed. I have literally worried before about them. Go to fill the feeder and it didn't need it at all! (not in the winter, mind you... hardly any grass left.)

Your NH roo crossed with the Del hen will produce sex-linked chicks. Males will be a Delaware color pattern, females will be NH.

 

[jerryn]

I saw movement!! I could see a small head moving around! Got my big spotlight, covered the lens with a piece of cardboard, cut a hole in the cardboard, shut the room lights off, and I can see babies moving around inside the eggs-----the ba-zillioncandle power ( don't really know how much it is)--made even these brown eggs luminate.----anyway 9 days into my first attempt. And I haven't killed em all. Makes me feel there is hope.

 

[tnchickenut]

Update on the hatch...

Day 10... candled again.

Delawares:
17 good... 1 early death (one of Gracie's)

Barred Rocks:
8 good.


Everyone else was a infertile egg. So, I really don't see why their would be any more problems as long as there are no power outages or anything. With eleven days to go, I'm pretty excited!!! I hope to get a good amount of hens... especially with the barred rocks. I want to establish a good size "eatting" egg flock. My mother is the one who eats my birds eggs and she says she feels guilty when she knows they could hatch into chicks. lol. It's in her head but I'll use it as a excuse to get more chickens!

 

[jerryn]

I just candled mine, looks like 4 out of 48 are to clear to be fertile, I left em in, figure i'll check again in a few days. I should have babys the morning of the 24th.

 

[speckledhen]

Quote:
Stacy, that's great!! Dels have a great fertility rate as long as I can get Isaac in there to mate them once a week--silly maneating women! Of the seven BRs I just hatched, I have only two obvious males, one of Fern's and one of Becca's. One may be a surprise, but that's not a bad sex ratio, so hoping for the same for you!

Wish those four Orpingtons would have been fertile. We'll be able to tell if it was just a lull in fertility or just the girls "not in the mood" since kathyinmo will have some of them next week. She's machine quilting a quilt I pieced for me for nothing, bless her heart, so she has free eggs for awhile from me, LOL (thanks, Kathy!) Suede is not an aggressive breeder so he doesn't chase them down and force himself on them like some roosters, either.

 

[tnchickenut]

Quote:
Stacy, that's great!! Dels have a great fertility rate as long as I can get Isaac in there to mate them once a week--silly maneating women! Of the seven BRs I just hatched, I have only two obvious males, one of Fern's and one of Becca's. One may be a surprise, but that's not a bad sex ratio, so hoping for the same for you!

Wish those four Orpingtons would have been fertile. We'll be able to tell if it was just a lull in fertility or just the girls "not in the mood" since kathyinmo will have some of them next week. She's machine quilting a quilt I pieced for me for nothing, bless her heart, so she has free eggs for awhile from me, LOL (thanks, Kathy!) Suede is not an aggressive breeder so he doesn't chase them down and force himself on them like some roosters, either.

Maybe that lack of agression is the only problem. Hopefully no one is infertile.
Boy, I'm hoping to get that sex ratio! That would be great. My neighbor loves barred rocks so she might take one rooster, but her flock wouldn't be big enough to for her to take two. I hadn't even talked to her about it yet... thought I would wait until I knew how many are going to hatch.

I can't wait to have these little boogers hatch! I got the buildings ordered and comming, so while their brooding we will be getting the coops together... everyone will have coops that are the same size and layout, making chores much easier. It is going to be the busiest spring ever! It already is!

 

[tnchickenut]

Well... I candled again last night. Should have been the last time before lockdown.

All of the remaining eggs looked good... moving little ones in all of the ones left.


However, the usual last week temp spike struck overnight. I don't know how long the temp was high but it was at 106/107F. I opened up and let it stay open for a couple minutes, made adjustments, checked the water (which was fine), and put the lid back on. It is back down where it should be.

I'll candle again right before I lock them down. Hopefully it didn't hurt them. I've been through worse and still got 100% hatch.

 

[speckledhen]

 

[tnchickenut]

Well, the boogers should be here Tues. night/ Wed. morning... I put them in at 3am, so that is why the weird hours.

I did the final candling, everyone that was left seemed fine... some even moving around (ALOT), and some not so much. Even the porous eggs (there were a couple - mainly barred rocks) seem to have developed well.

One little one seems behind. At first glance when I had the light to it, I though... "oh, a early death"... but then it moved, so I guess it's a straggler and I don't expect it to be the first out. He looks like he is about three days behind in deveopement... maybe two. If it wasn't lockdown I'd rotate him. He's just going to have to make due.

I'll be posting pics of the hatch once they are here! Should be 25 chicks total. 16 Delaware - 8 Barred Rocks.

 

[speckledhen]

Best of luck!