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

[ChickenCanoe]

Good morning Ralphie did you see the t.v series "Fargo"?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fargo_(season_1)

It based on a true story, I am now on season 2, it happens in Minnesota. and you really have some crazy people out there!

Another real place is South Park that the animated series is based on. We stayed in Fairplay, CO when we went skiing. It was called South Park twice in its history.

Same same. San Antonio's about as far south as you can go in America

I meant the continent of S.A., not the southern US.
The world has interesting continents distant from us.

 

[duluthralphie]

Good morning Ralphie did you see the t.v series "Fargo"?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fargo_(season_1)

It based on a true story, I am now on season 2, it happens in Minnesota. and you really have some crazy people out there!

So you're on of the people P.T. Barnum was referring too......

BTW The police uniforms are all wrong for the different agencies in Minnesota in that show.

 

[kwhites634]

Quote: I knew what you meant; just messing with your mind

 

[Pensmaster]

I'm fairly happy but I'll be happier when I'm finished. I just killed 2 roosters from a flock of 15 hens that had 3 roosters running with them. The hens were getting ridden raw.
I went out just before full dawn to evaluate them and the first two I held weren't right so they're gone.
I'm down to 4 breeding roosters.  I'm going to evaluate the 2 youngest tonight and may eliminate another tomorrow. I have 2 cockerels that hatched January 2 and I'm definitely keeping one of them.
I also want to get my hen numbers down by selling the ones that aren't right color or conformation wise. IMO, the egg color is the biggest attraction to the breed for others that aren't familiar with them. I'm having a hard time figuring out who is laying the darkest eggs.
In 3 flocks I have some very dark egg layers and some light egg layers.
My birds are extremely skittish and changes stress them.
Any stress while the egg is in the shell gland can inhibit pigment application.
I tried moving them one or two at a time to smaller quarters. Trap nesting could stress them.
I'm considering microchipping them and either having a text sent to my phone when a bird enters the nest or having rollout nests with a printer that puts the birds number on the egg after it is laid.
I'm overthinking this - right?

Nope not overthinking at all. Could set up a little photo booth and have a picture sent to you as well.

I have three more roosters to select from and I'm afraid the hen that I had shipped to me awhile back has a very poor structure at least from what I have already. Her only saving grace is that she's possibly a different line.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Isn't egg colour passed on through the male?

Copied from a thread by Mr. Miller:

I thought so too. I know many of the pullet's attributes come from the sire.
But without the scientific research to back me up, I truly believe it is both.

I hatch only the darkest eggs so the boys come from those eggs.

However, I gave/sold a bunch of birds to a poultryman friend that had a pair of Penedesencas. He swore his hen laid extremely dark eggs. I asked him to breed the cockerel I gave him to his hen and my pullet to his rooster.
He gave me 2 pullets (supposedly from those pairings) some time later. When his pullets started laying, it was a huge disappointment. The eggs were about the color of Plymouth Rock or Orpington eggs.
I decided it was worth the genetic diversity to use them in my breeding. I figured over time, breeding to my roosters that came from dark eggs, the eggs would get darker.
But they never did and that light egg color really watered down my flock for the worse.

 

[BantyChooks]

Nope not overthinking at all. Could set up a little photo booth and have a picture sent to you as well.

I have three more roosters to select from and I'm afraid the hen that I had shipped to me awhile back has a very poor structure at least from what I have already. Her only saving grace is that she's possibly a different line.

Maybe make automatic swing out treat dispensers triggered when an egg is laid, therefore encouraging hens to lay more than one egg a day?

 

[livhatcher]

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask this...so please bear with me, but I got the job of babysitting the school incubator for spring break...don't even go there with how stressful getting home on the 5 minute drive was with the babies. That said, I examined the outside of the incubator and the teacher had put a cute, little sign on it that said: "Chicken Eggs, Incubation Time: 21 days, Days 1-17 99.5-100 degrees, 50-60% humidity. Day 18, humidity up to 70% and out of turner"

I guess that surprised me because I read a lot on BYC and most people seem to be keeping their humidity much lower in both still and forced air incubation. BUT, I started talking to Dr. Google and looked at a lot of state ag and university pages instructing in incubating and their recommendation was at that 50-60% level. Now, I'm not so stupid that I believe college wonks over experienced hatchers, but it did cause me to ponder what the differences were all about. Any ideas? I'm not trying to challenge anyone, I'm just generally curious and wanting to do the right thing. Thanks in advance!!

 

[BantyChooks]

I thought so too. I know many of the pullet's attributes come from the sire.
But without the scientific research to back me up, I truly believe it is both.

I hatch only the darkest eggs so the boys come from those eggs.

However, I gave/sold a bunch of birds to a poultryman friend that had a pair of Penedesencas. He swore his hen laid extremely dark eggs. I asked him to breed the cockerel I gave him to his hen and my pullet to his rooster.
He gave me 2 pullets (supposedly from those pairings) some time later. When his pullets started laying, it was a huge disappointment. The eggs were about the color of Plymouth Rock or Orpington eggs.
I decided it was worth the genetic diversity to use them in my breeding. I figured over time, breeding to my roosters that came from dark eggs, the eggs would get darker.
But they never did and that light egg color really watered down my flock for the worse.

Interesting.

 

[Pensmaster]

Maybe make automatic swing out treat dispensers triggered when an egg is laid, therefore encouraging hens to lay more than one egg a day?

The award system perfect!

 

[BantyChooks]

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask this...so please bear with me, but I got the job of babysitting the school incubator for spring break...don't even go there with how stressful getting home on the 5 minute drive was with the babies. That said, I examined the outside of the incubator and the teacher had put a cute, little sign on it that said: "Chicken Eggs, Incubation Time: 21 days, Days 1-17 99.5-100 degrees, 50-60% humidity. Day 18, humidity up to 70% and out of turner"

I guess that surprised me because I read a lot on BYC and most people seem to be keeping their humidity much lower in both still and forced air incubation. BUT, I started talking to Dr. Google and looked at a lot of state ag and university pages instructing in incubating and their recommendation was at that 50-60% level. Now, I'm not so stupid that I believe college wonks over experienced hatchers, but it did cause me to ponder what the differences were all about. Any ideas? I'm not trying to challenge anyone, I'm just generally curious and wanting to do the right thing. Thanks in advance!!

Welcome!

Most likely is a result of living in different places, different egg ages, and different types of incubators... Cabinets seem to require higher humidity than the tabletop models most of us use. Even so; 60% for any incubator seems much too high.

Kudos to you for checking out different sources and trying to find the best information possible.

Ralphie, you run 45% in your cabinets, correct?