Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[ronott1]

I got seriously contradicted on another thread when I said this. Thank you.

I have too!

Humidity needs to be between 25% and 55%. Temperatures need to be within 1%. Many focus a lot on humidity when it is really not that important.

The moisture that is on a chick that is not egg goo will not make a chick stick in the egg. Egg yolk is like a glue so if it in the egg at hatch, the chick will often stick. Temperatures out of range will make the chick not absorb the yolk along with several other things, like flock health, shipping stress and inbreeding.

To get back to Heritage, here is a picture of the SG Dorkings I hatched:

 

[3riverschick]

Help, any ideas ???

this has been a crazy season. I am on day one of the 2 Brinsea mini advances. all but one of the outcross chicks popped out today. the last egg has a chick in it, just not out yet. On the other hand, the inbred chicks started to pip early today and now nothing. I am not even hearing sounds from the eggs. I am worried. This season, on the advice of another breeder, I didn't fill the 2nd water well at lockdown. Accidently set the turner to ok, not auto, so they were turning while the chicks were trying to hatch. I wonder if that tired out the inbred chicks? We have fixed that turner issue now and both turners are turned off. I read an article by a poultry breeder which said if they had chicks trying to get out they would make a small hole only to find a beak and give them a drop of nutri-drench on the beak to give them strength to keep going. I filled the 2nd water well on the inbred chicks. I am worried they might be shrink wrapped.

 

[ronott1]

Help, any ideas ???

this has been a crazy season. I am on day one of the 2 Brinsea mini advances. all but one of the outcross chicks popped out today. the last egg has a chick in it, just not out yet. On the other hand, the inbred chicks started to pip early today and now nothing. I am not even hearing sounds from the eggs. I am worried. This season, on the advice of another breeder, I didn't fill the 2nd water well at lockdown. Accidently set the turner to ok, not auto, so they were turning while the chicks were trying to hatch. I wonder if that tired out the inbred chicks? We have fixed that turner issue now and both turners are turned off. I read an article by a poultry breeder which said if they had chicks trying to get out they would make a small hole only to find a beak and give them a drop of nutri-drench on the beak to give them strength to keep going. I filled the 2nd water well on the inbred chicks. I am worried they might be shrink wrapped.

I was answering that!

Shrink wrap happens because the stick. They stick because the yolk glues them them in. This is much less likely to happen in a Brinsea.

No, the turning does not hurt them unless you have a turner that they can get stuck in.

Best!

 

[3riverschick]

I was answering that!

Shrink wrap happens because the stick. They stick because the yolk glues them them in. This is much less likely to happen in a Brinsea.

No, the turning does not hurt them unless you have a turner that they can get stuck in.

Best!

So just wait and give them more time?

 

[ronott1]

So just wait and give them more time?

Yes!

Look for the guide to assisted hatching. The main point is to wait.

This year I am not helping any out. It is a type of culling so hopefully the strong ones that hatch will have chicks that hatch better next season.

It has been working. The more I leave things alone, the better they hatch.

You did turn off the turner?

 

[subhanalah]

@Sally Sunshine
Her assisted hatch article is in her signature.

 

[3riverschick]

Yes!

Look for the guide to assisted hatching. The main point is to wait.

This year I am not helping any out. It is a type of culling so hopefully the strong ones that hatch will have chicks that hatch better next season.

It has been working. The more I leave things alone, the better they hatch.

You did turn off the turner?

Yup, turned off the turner. My concern is not that they need to be culled. It's that the 2nd well wasn't filled
and the turner was on and these 2 things could be making the difference. Because of this, maybe they need help.
I will look at Sally's article, thanks!
Best,
Karen

 

[ronott1]

Yup, turned off the turner. My concern is not that they need to be culled. It's that the 2nd well wasn't filled
and the turner was on and these 2 things could be making the difference. Because of this, maybe they need help.
I will look at Sally's article, thanks!
Best,
Karen

Not cull them, let them hatch on their own. The only thing to do now would be to raise humidity. What is the humidity? Filling or not filling a well needs to be determined by the humidity level in the incubator. For hatching, it should be about 65%.

There are tricks for opening the incubator. It is not recommended if there are pipped eggs but can be done if necessary. You can open the top, toss in a couple of wet paper towels or spray a mist from a spray bottle. Water can be added to the wells and then the top put back on. I would do this if the humidity is really low.

The Breeder I have been hatching for wants to make sure the chicks hatch well for her breeding program. It is part of her Heritage improvement plan.

 

[chickadoodles]

I have too!

Humidity needs to be between 25% and 55%. Temperatures need to be within 1%. Many focus a lot on humidity when it is really not that important.

The moisture that is on a chick that is not egg goo will not make a chick stick in the egg. Egg yolk is like a glue so if it in the egg at hatch, the chick will often stick. Temperatures out of range will make the chick not absorb the yolk along with several other things, like flock health, shipping stress and inbreeding.

To get back to Heritage, here is a picture of the SG Dorkings I hatched:

Ron they are very cute. Thanks for sharing. I joined a Sussex page on Face Book and Steve W. is the admin on the page. He said he has never put his eggs in lock down and has always had a perfect hatch. What do you think about this method Ron?

 

[3riverschick]

Hi ya'll,
Thanks for all the advice I got here. I went over to Sally Sunshine's article and decided to "wait". This morning three are out in Advance #2. I did take advice and filled the second water well last night. Lifting the lid on these mini advances isn't a big deal because the humidity and temp shoot right back up so very quickly. Two more left to hatch in the Advance (#2) then I can put them in their own brooder.

Am having trouble keeping the temps up in the brooder. They are about 80 degrees but the chicks (Advance#1)seem to be doing fine. I continue to monkey with the height of the 250 watt light. Still have one egg left with chick inside in the Advance#1 whose other occupants hatched yesterday. No sign of a pip yet but it is only day 21 for that unit.
Best,
Karen