Hatching percentage

[Gypsy07]

Quote:
Well, the last person I supplied a dozen eggs to, free of charge (apart from the postal charge at cost) got 11/12 fertile eggs and hatched seven chicks...

 

[John Chicken GB]

Quote:
Yes, shipped eggs are certainly a gamble, but it is possible to get a good hatch from them. The best I ever got was 11 out of 13 and someone got I think it was 12 out of 14 eggs that I sent out this year. Yes, the odds of those kinds of hatches aren't real good, but it is possible.

I have both bought and sold hatching eggs and the ones I've sold I've almost always sold by auction.....I hate pricing them and that way the buyer decides what they're willing to risk.

Sometimes it's the only way to get the quality and breeds of birds you want.

Nothing personal Katy, I think if I had some eggs to sell , I might want to do the same and send them on their way with love . But knowing that most will fail , it seems a bit wrong. Perhaps I'll start a special courrier service just for fragile things . ???

 

[dsqard]

Have you thought of contacting Pips and Peeps at http://www.pipsandpeeps.com/Page_4.html ? They sell hatching eggs and chicks. You really can't get much better than their birds.

 

[Katy]

Quote:
Yes, shipped eggs are certainly a gamble, but it is possible to get a good hatch from them. The best I ever got was 11 out of 13 and someone got I think it was 12 out of 14 eggs that I sent out this year. Yes, the odds of those kinds of hatches aren't real good, but it is possible.

I have both bought and sold hatching eggs and the ones I've sold I've almost always sold by auction.....I hate pricing them and that way the buyer decides what they're willing to risk.

Sometimes it's the only way to get the quality and breeds of birds you want.

Nothing personal Katy, I think if I had some eggs to sell , I might want to do the same and send them on their way with love . But knowing that most will fail , it seems a bit wrong. Perhaps I'll start a special courrier service just for fragile things . ???

How is it wrong for people to sell hatching eggs? Buyers know....or should educate themselves on the risks involved before they buy. No one holds a gun to their head and makes them take the risk. To try and put a guilt trip on sellers doesn't really seem fair. I've had a terrible hatches on many shipped eggs, but I was willing to take the risk to get the kind and quality of birds I wanted that weren't available to me anywhere near me. I've also had some so-so hatches and some that did pretty well. I didn't blame the seller when I had poor results....I knew the risks going in.

When I sell eggs, I have eggs from that same time period in my incubators so I know that they're fertile when I send them out. I can get great hatches here at home while the ones I sent out don't do so well.

I've seriously considered not selling anymore because I don't like what the PO does to them and anyone who has asked me about hatching eggs in the last couple of months I have turned down. Will I sell again in the future? I can't really say.

 

[LadyBirdsPalace]

I just had my first hatch about two weeks ago.

I had some shipped by bus quite a distance and then scooped some of my neighbours...

Shipped Eggs:
-1/6 turkeys hatched (2 were cracked when arrived)
-7/7 duck eggs hatched
-6/12 chick eggs.

So I got 56% and I thought that was pretty good considering they were shipped, it was my first time trying and it was a combined hatch.

Friend's Eggs:
-6/12 hatched,
2 didn't make it after they pipped and had I had a little more knowledge perhaps I could have helped them, so I should say 8/12 wanted to hatch... so 66%, but I only got 50%.

I would try shipped eggs again for sure, especially for a breed I really desired. It's away a gamble either way, and I know how upset I would be if only one or none had hatched, but I would just try someone different, you'll get some! I was kinda sad I only got one turkey as that was my main reason for hatching my own, but I'll just try again next time as the kids and I did have a lot of fun. Just toss a few locals into the bator so that SOMETHING hatches, if rough shipping is indeed the reason you get a poor hatch rate, at least you'll have a couple/few fluffy butts to make you smile.

PS - My husband calls him my $36.00 turkey! haha

 

[zookeeper15133]

Quote:
OH NO! Bet you were devestated about the duck eggs..... I just don't get it! Every single egg we get from our chickens are fertile!! EVERY ONE!!!! So, why when you receive via mail, some aren't fertile??? Are there not enough roosters in the pens with the hens??? I just don't get it!!!!!

I'm already crying about my eggs. 1 chick. That's it. $55 chick at that. And I had to hatch it myself. I really, really, really wanted a few Ameraucana's. I should be grateful I have the one. Today I ordered 8 Maran hatching eggs. Depending on how it goes, I might not be buying any more hatching eggs. Which, my fiance knows I'm upset ,and says, "Oh we can order more Ameraucana eggs"......but I'd have to wait all over again........Oh well.

Thanks though.....golly 12 eggs and none hatched....WOW!

But my duck eggs weren't shipped. I bought them at a poultry auction that I was at.

I took some eggs to the auction to sell. I know the lady who bought them and I asked her to let me know how they go. They were out of the same batch that I had 11 out of 12 fertile.

I sold items regularly on Ebay for about 5 years. My experience with USPS was customers got more broken things when I marked the boxes fragile than when I didn't. (Both packaged well.)

Nothing personal Katy, I think if I had some eggs to sell , I might want to do the same and send them on their way with love . But knowing that most will fail , it seems a bit wrong. Perhaps I'll start a special courrier service just for fragile things . ???

I just read a thread a few days ago where they were trying to do this with people traveling, to deliver chickens or eggs. Sort of like an underground railroad. Person A takes to Person B and so on.​

 

[alaina]

Have heard not so positive things on here re: hatchery chicks. Not sure I understand why. Is there something wrong with hatchery chicks VS chicks or eggs from people on BYC?

Just curious.

 

[Bantam Chase]

Quote:
At a hatchery they are producing quantities of chicks to fill set orders. They are concerned about the numbers, not the quality of the bird. Yes, they are purebred, but probably not the best specimens of the breed... along the lines of buying a puppy mill dog v. one from a quality breeder. Many people are into showing or producing show-quality birds or enhancing the breed, and it is important for them to be buying quality birds of specific bloodlines.

Now - if you are just looking for a backyard flock then there is nothing wrong with these eggs/chicks, just don't plan on being able to competitively show the birds or being able to market them as such.

 

[colebarnhart]

Quote:
Are you wanting chickens or just wanting to hatch them yourself? Have you ever considered just buying baby chix via a hatchery (i.e. McMurry's, Ideal, chickensforbackyards.com and etc.)? Get the kind and usually the sex you want and then when they start laying then you can put those eggs in the bator to satisfy your hatching fix.

None of the hatcheries offer Ameraucana chicks.......

. I've been watching the 1 chick that did hatch. Should I be worried he/she may not be ok upstairs? Seems to be ok...running around, eating, drinking and such....just makes me wonder b/c the other eggs were horrible when I opened them.

Does anybody ever hatch any eggs from the mail and the chicks/chickens end up not being all there (upstairs??)??

Still on the prowl for Ameraucana hatching eggs within driving distance. The only thing is, I just don't trust everything I read. And just because the egg is green/blue...doesn't mean it's a true Ameraucana. I have bought a few chickens at the auction, and needless to say, both times have been bitten. 1st time thought I was buying dominq & RIR but got BR & NHR. This past weekend I bought a BTW jap hen & 2 chicks......well, 1 of the chicks is solid white. If you have ever been to a poultry auction, then you know what I'm talking about. The auctioneer goes by what the seller tells him. And, you can't always see inside some of the crates. The auctioneer had a listing last weekend of 1 roo and 6 hens (RIR)...well, the crate was one with very small openings, so almost impossible to see. A guy happened to open the box............................and guess what????? THERE WAS 1 HEN AND 6 ROOSTERS! I have learned to not bid on ANYTHING in a crate where you cannot see the animal. Makes me think the seller is trying to hide something........... Plus, above all, I don't like bringing chickens home that I have no idea where they came from. Chickens can be carriers of diseases without actually be sick at that particular time. I would hate to bring a bird home only to infect my entire flock. Currently, I put them away from the flock for 3-4 weeks before introducing to my flock.....but even that isn't foolproof!!

Thanks for everybody's input. I see I am right along there with the majority. (makes me feel better)

What hatchery's are you looking at??? I think every hatchery I've ever seen sells Ameraucana's /EE chix and seem to have them more available than other breeds.

I've ordered hatching eggs from different people on BYC & E-bay on 4 seperate occasions and they were all packaged great and all fertile and all developed very well, just didn't hatch worth a crap, so I blame my cheap bator not the eggs or people selling the eggs.

 

[zookeeper15133]

I bought 4 Ameraucanas from TS (I bought 6 but 2 were roos). So far, I have only gotten brown and white eggs, they just started to lay last week and I think only 2 are laying. I have 4 from McMurrary that are sold as Ameraucana/Arucana mixes. They have a month or so til lay.