Hatch-a-long, set March 1, hatch March 21/22

[HomesteadNowhere]

So sorry to hear that. Nature does not always come out the way we hope. Looks like a great little clutch of healthy chicks otherwise, so hope it isn’t anything genetic. It is crazy to think of all the things that have to go just right for a baby chick to become fertilized, develop in the egg the right way, and then have all things set perfectly to hatch. And in nature’s defense, there is usually a different critter relying on some dud chicks to have a meal (snake, coon, etc). Nothing goes to waste.

I’ll be curious to follow your chicks- I think the feather development is so fun to watch! Mine are barnyard mixes too with no real direction yet but we have some freedoms rangers arriving tomorrow so may end up with a similar breeding goal as yours- larger extra Roos and fair laying. Did you insert the link to that thread already?

Yep, I'm content with 22 chicks from this test run. Most of the eggs had been in the fridge for up to 2wks so it was all a big test.

I posted the link yesterday, it's the first on the last page. I raised them on restricted feed, not full feed like you usually do for meat birds. They grew fine and are fine now at a year old. Getting alot of internal fat built up though, I don't know if they would make it a second year.

And the cockerels will have dwarf genes from the parent line, so instead of dealing with weeding that out of the line forever I just kept pullets. Ideally once they are a few weeks old you could separate the m/f and be able to feed the boys heavily for eating. While also restricted feeding the pullets to breed from.