EDUCATIONAL INCUBATION & HATCHING CHAT THREAD, w/ Sally Sunshine Shipped Eggs

[ChickenCanoe]

Wonderful, set the biggest ones. How was onset of lay delayed?

Somewhat accidentally and somewhat on purpose. These are unrelated birds and I didn't have housing I could trust. Procrastinating to get 'er done, they were on short days plus the time of year.
I coddled them by putting them in carriers and bringing them onto the back porch overnight.
Sometimes I use blackout housing with 90% shade cloth on the windows to shorten days either to delay onset or to induce molting.

One of them isn't laying a dark enough egg so I'll probably just put her in a eating egg flock.
The other 2 are laying nice dark eggs.
I think I'll seal the dark ones in plastic for a few days, chill them and see how many extra large/jumbos I get to fire up the incubator. As rare as my birds are, this quad is extremely valuable to me so I don't want to squander an opportunity to get some chicks out of them - heaven forbid something else bad happens.
After all this time, I just expect to lose some eventually.

 

[mlm Mike]

Quote: OK, so reducing the light they get would delay their point of lay. It certainly sounds like it would be a good idea to set the eggs and get your flock built back up.

 

[Akrnaf2]

 

Wonderful, set the biggest ones. How was onset of lay delayed?

Somewhat accidentally and somewhat on purpose. These are unrelated birds and I didn't have housing I could trust. Procrastinating to get 'er done, they were on short days plus the time of year.
I coddled them by putting them in carriers and bringing them onto the back porch overnight.
Sometimes I use blackout housing with 90% shade cloth on the windows to shorten days either to delay onset or to induce molting.

One of them isn't laying a dark enough egg so I'll probably just put her in a eating egg flock.
The other 2 are laying nice dark eggs.
I think I'll seal the dark ones in plastic for a few days, chill them and see how many extra large/jumbos I get to fire up the incubator. As rare as my birds are, this quad is extremely valuable to me so I don't want to squander an opportunity to get some chicks out of them - heaven forbid something else bad happens.
After all this time, I just expect to lose some eventually.

Did you try any hormonal treatment?

 

[kwhites634]

Well guys..... 34 years ago today.... I was wearing an OZZY concert jersey and my wife a tie dye maternity top... We got hitched in front of a probate judge.
I was 18 at the time..... Chris was 15
It was against the judges best judgement and everyone have us a year. But here we are... Three kids and several grand kids later

Congratulations, Phil
Not many of us make it that far these days; we're definitely in the minority. Someone in that family has a large share of patience...I doubt it's you.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

OK, so reducing the light they get would delay their point of lay. It certainly sounds like it would be a good idea to set the eggs and get your flock built back up.

Yeah since day length, or more accurately increasing vs. decreasing day length regulates production, if days are short that delays sexual maturity.
Commercial egg and broiler operations use blackout housing to regulate day length. In layer growout, they keep the birds on about 8 hour days and then around 17 weeks, give or take, they start incrementing day length. That ensures they all commence laying within a week or so of each other.
On broiler breeder farms, they hold them off longer so the pullets lay incubatable size eggs from the onset. I think they shoot for about 25 weeks.

I have well over 30 various age females now - maybe only 10-15 keepers and about 5 or 6 really nice males plus another 15 for the pot.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Did you try any hormonal treatment?

Nothing but light therapy - and nutrition.
I'm not familiar with any hormonal treatment for this. Are you talking about onset of lay or egg color?

Congratulations, Phil
Not many of us make it that far these days; we're definitely in the minority. Someone in that family has a large share of patience...I doubt it's you.

 

[Pensmaster]

Well guys..... 34 years ago today.... I was wearing an OZZY concert jersey and my wife a tie dye maternity top... We got hitched in front of a probate judge.
I was 18 at the time..... Chris was 15
It was against the judges best judgement and everyone have us a year. But here we are... Three kids and several grand kids later

Awesome

 

[dan26552]

I sure did but well Im not a fd

mornin Dan! How are you?

lol ok thanks you

I'm great, got 4 ducks eggs this morning Two more and all the mature girls will be laying again.

 

[dan26552]

Morning EVERYONE!!!   Happy Wednesday!

 

[Akrnaf2]

Did you try any hormonal treatment?

Nothing but light therapy - and nutrition.
I'm not familiar with any hormonal treatment for this. Are you talking about onset of lay or egg color?

 
Congratulations, Phil
Not many of us make it that far these days; we're definitely in the minority. Someone in that family has a large share of patience...I doubt it's you. 

 

I also never herd of someone that did it, but If you will give the hen LH ( the same hormon that synthetic derivatives of it found in birth control pills ) you will trigger a negativ feedback loop that will reduce the secretion of the LH- GnRH from the hippothalamus and that will stop the reproductive system. In briff take one of your rubbish hen give it 1/8 of a birth control pill daily and see what happens!