Faverolles Thread

[seminolewind]

Henry, congrats on your hatch. I am right behind you, I have 8 going into lock down tonight. WooHoo!

 

[hcammack]

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Great to hear ! I lost three of the eggs two weeks in they were gross but these are all great hoping for some whites. Hope all 8 hatch for you.

 

[seminolewind]

I see some whites!

Well out of 9 good eggs that had a terrible start, 8 are being locked down. I think that's great! Out of 14, 2 were yuck, I broke 3, 1 quit, 8 kicking!

 

[hcammack]

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You must be looking at Keesmoms chicks most of mine are still in the bator or newly moved to the brooder and I only have 3 hatched. I think at least two are salmons or blue salmons probably all 3 we will see when they start to get feathers. That is a great result for what those eggs went through.

 

[pasofinofarm]

I think you are both doing great... I still can not figure out what in the world caused stinky eggs... my friend says probably bacteria introduced into the nests with all the flood waters we had. I have scrubed down the housing and used Nolvasan on everything... tossed out cartons and started new ones, etc. I have 30 in a friends cabinet 'bator now on day 14 and no stinky eggs so far... every dang one of them is alive and kicking.

Just as I have told you both privately... if your hatch is affected I am happy to replace or refund but let me just go ahead and apologize publically too....

 

[hcammack]

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In no way am I blaming you ! Sorry if it sounded that way I wouldn't hesitate to buy from you again.I just wanted to report on how incubation was going and all things comsidered its going great and I am very very pleased with my chicks they all have beatiful toe placment already. I have 5 chicks out and two more LF pips! Even if they stop hatching now I would be very pleased but I think I will be getting some more which is really exciting! If they stopped now your eggs would still have been the best I have hatched out of shipped eggs.

 

[pasofinofarm]

I got a note from someone who hatched my Favs recently. Seems she is happy with her hatch but may have had an egg or two affected by bacteria... I wrote back quit a lenghtly response and even though I am not completely sure it belongs here (Henry you be the judge since it is your thread and I will delete it if you like) I thought I would copy part of it here so that everyone can be in on the above posts and won't be wondering ...

"On the bacteria... I sent out a note to everyone that I thought was involved but evidently missed you.... We had flooding just before your eggs went out. This is a working farm and the chicken pens back up to the hog enclosure as well as a large compost pile that features various rotting manures, etc. The flooding brought some nasty stinky standing water into the chicken pens and prevented drainage for two days.

At all times the chickens has high/dry ground and clean coop space so I felt like everything was fine... then I had two people (Henry and _____) PM me on BYC that they had eggs that 'stank' as if rotten... ______'s were only three days into incubation and if you count the time in travel probably six days old... At first i thought she was pulling my leg (some weirdo angling for free eggs) but when two people that I trust on BYC confirmed that she was an honest person ( and I realized she got eggs from me last year and had a good hatch, duh!) I PM'd to say I couldn't explain it but I believed it and asked her to go forward with the hatch with the understanding that if it failed I'd make it up to her.

Then two weeks into incubation Henry PMd me to say he had two eggs stinking... Now came total freak out... I emailed everybody I know that raises chickens to see what could be happening to my eggs.The only answer was bacterial contamination. It was then that I thought about the flood waters... we had already added 16 yards of white sand to the pens to elevate them so that water can not stand there even in heavy rains and flooding and I had mostly forgotten about those two days of dirty standing water.

I tore the housing apart, washed everything down with Nolvasan and changed all bedding and nesting materials. I set a 30 egg experimental hatch in a friends incubator because mine was about to hatch 40+ BCM chicks that I just could not risk if I had some type of contamination. Today is day 15for those eggs and it appears that they are all going to make it to lock down.

I have to be honest to say that this whole thing has been very stressful for me. Maybe I take things too personally but I try very hard to be sure that I am doing everything right. I never miss an opportunity to have someone come out to the farm and see where and how my birds live or what my adult birds look like. I am truly doing my best.

I have read thread after thread on BYC where a seller was crucified in the court of public opinion for some problem with their eggs and i have experienced that meanness on occasion myself. Last year I took a big hit for the color of my cuckoo Marans eggs even though I posted everywhere that they had been laying a long time and eggs were light... there were pictures of my eggs on threads everywhere taken by others and a simple search would have turned up tons of information. Still someone called me dishonest and said that my birds were not even really Marans... This year I almost did not offer them but have had people contact to say they got them last year and are very happy and want more even thogh the chcikens are still in the same cycle and the eggs are lighter now then ever.

Then on the flip side, I went out to possibly buy birds from someone local who sells on ebay and BYC and was horrified at seeing hundreds and hundreds of chickens confined in every type of old camper shell and dog crate and broken down cage. Conditions were filthy and the smell almost made me vomit. She literally was picking dead chickena out of pens as she was showing me her birds... Many were missing feathers and had sores... mites, deformities, etc. were rampant. I beat it out of there as fast as I could and thanked the Lord that I had not dealt with her by mail... so I know what people fear.

Sometimes I think I will quit with eggs, I have been doing a great business with chicks with the folks close enough to pick up for years now and could just do that... no one is ever unhappy with chicks. Eggs are stressful and I am certainly not going to be able to quit that old day job with the proceeds. But hatching eggs are how I got my start... and although it has taken me several years to look out in my pens and see what I want to see, without someone shipping me hatching eggs from across the country I would never have been able to have the chickens I do have, even if they are not perfect. So really I see my self 'offering' hatching eggs, rather than 'selling' hatching eggs. If someone gets eggs form me it is an opertunity not a guarentee of perfection."

And I went on to say that I do not need the money to live... which does not seem to fit there except that it is always money that is cited as the reason people would cheat and lie about eggs...

So that is the story... from my perspective anyway. Hope that clears things up.

 

[hcammack]

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Thank you for letting us know your side of the story. Your one of the sellers I most trust on BYC and I have no doubt that your birds are very well taken care of and some of the nicest stock around. These favs all have huge beards and very good toe placment even a day after hatch. Keep selling eggs! I think I got two white chicks also! They have little white wing stubs hope that means white chicks. I am glad you could tell your side of the story and I am sorry it caused you so much stress. I can relate because we got the same flooding rain but in the form of 4ft of snow! My runs where very close to calapsing after and most of the birds have been locked up since. Now that its melting and we had rain for thr last few days my yard is a swamp! Now I am worried the same thing will happen with my eggs. Glad your birds have dried out an just know that I apreciate your work and I hope we all do. I believe melissa's birds and all of her animals are some of the most responsibly and carefully taken care of animals on BYC. I would relish the oppertunity to one day visit her famlies beautiful farm and meet the person that is responsible for such amazing birds.

 

[Ispahan]

Congratulations to Henry and all the others here who have faverolles recently hatched or currently hatching! I am sure I can speak for all of us here when I say I can't wait to see more pictures and to hear how they grow up!

Melissa, thank you for being a truly conscientious and humane breeder. One needs only to look at the many photos of your stock and the stock obtained from hatching your eggs here on BYC to see how much time and effort you have put into your birds. Truly first class in every way. Your efforts do not go unnoticed.

 

[SillyChicken]

My little fav roo is due to arrive friday (Ideal is going to mark him for me). Will he be ok to put with my amost 3 wk old fav pullets? I have the temp set at 80 deg now.. will it be too cold for him? Should I provide a small bulb, placed lower so he can get more heat?