Hybrids

[Pat Mcaffee]

I have a broody sitting on a nest of seven hybrid eggs that will hopefully be an interesting addition to my flock. My first question is if they get a bit of broody fecal matter on them will they probably become infected? The nest consists of three Rhode Island Red x (Americauna x Auracauna), one Barred Rock X (Americauna x Auracauna), and two Speckled Sussex x
(Americauna x Auracauna). The rooster is an easter egger hybrid and mostly grey. Does anyone have an idea or example of what these chicks will look like when they have fully developed? Also, one egg has an air sack on the side instead of the bottom. Should I remove the egg or let it go with the others?

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Those aren't really hybrids, just cross breeds. Generally the term hybrid is used for mixed species, such as a mule or a chicken-guinea hybrid, or a dog-wolf hybrid.

Pea combs are dominant and given the mixes of your hens I would expect all babies to have pea combs. With everyone being mixed breeds its hard to say much else.

Leave the egg with the side air sac. They can hatch fine like that, though a lot of times it indicates it sat on its side too long before being set so it might be old. Unless it becomes contaminated I wouldn't worry. The same goes for the ones with poop. Brush the poop off with a dry rag or brillo pad and then let them be.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I would not use a brillo pad, just a dry rag. Washing or using something abrasive can remove the coating of "bloom" the hen put on the egg to help protect against bacteria entering the egg. How much of a risk fecal matter causes depends on how bad it is. I don't worry about a light dusting but I don't set eggs with heavy clumps.

I'd also leave the one with the air sac on the side. Give mother nature a chance, sometimes she does really well. Just sniff the eggs occasionally. If you smell the rotten egg smell get rid of that egg. Otherwise leave them alone.

There are a lot of different possible genetic combinations for your rooster so it is impossible to say what those chicks will look like. Do you know what his parents looked like? Since he is mostly grey it's likely he has some black hiding under there but who knows what else is there. It's possible you can get a lot of black or grey chicks but with him being a mix you can easily get a rainbow of colors and patterns.

It's quite likely your Barred Rock will produce black sex links as long as the rooster is not barred. Any black or grey chicks that hatch with the spot on their head should be males and the females from the BR will not have the spot, but it's really possible you will get some black or grey chicks from the other hens that the males would not have the spot.

The gene that causes the mottling on your Speckled Sussex is a recessive gene. That means you will not get any speckled chicks from that cross unless the rooster is also speckled or has at least one mottled gene. That's highly unlikely but again it would help to know what his parents looked like.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Just looked it up and brillo is the wrong word.. I was thinking of the nonscratch green pads, not the steel wool ones. I have used those in the past with no problem... though I tend to just scrape it with my fingernails since I'm gross like that.

 

[Pat Mcaffee]

Okay! Also, would it be okay to steal one of the chicks and place her with my bantam partridge wyandotte that is hatching the same day by itself?

 

[Pat Mcaffee]

And the rooster is grey, black, and orange. I do not know what his parents looked like. I bought him at our county fair as a true Auracauna to which I was extremely annoyed to find out I was wrong. My last clutch that I did all died but the barred rocks were all black and the speckled Sussex had brown and black lines on its back, yellow feathers, and black spots. I have no idea what the Rhode Island Red will look like.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Yeah, I tend to just rub the light stuff off with my thumb or fingertip. I'll be washing my hands before I stick my fingers in my mouth anyway, maybe even with soap.

The last thing a hen does before laying the egg is coat it with a liquid that quickly dries, we call this "bloom" though the professionals have another name for it I can't recall right now. The purpose of the bloom is to stop bacteria from entering the egg though leave it porous enough that air can go through the porous shell so the developing chick can breathe.. That enables a chicken to lay eggs for a couple of weeks in a nest hidden away somewhere and then sit on the eggs an additional three weeks to hatch them without them going bad. Turkeys and ducks can go much longer. The bloom is extremely effective as long as it is intact.

If bacteria enters an egg incubation temperature is the perfect temperature for it to multiply. The egg provides great nutrition for the bacteria, scientists use egg as food to grow bacteria when they are experimenting. That's what causes an egg to go bad, bacteria get inside and grow.

If the egg is in a sterile environment, like inside a sanitized incubator, bacteria is highly unlikely to get inside the egg even if the bloom is gone, though make sure your hands are clean when handling the eggs. Under a broody hen is not a real sterile environment, although it isn't too bad. If I remember right (sometimes I don't) the oil in a hen's feathers help fight bacteria. Removing the bloom does not guarantee an egg will go bad, but it sure raises the possibility that it can.

I never wash eggs that I'm going to try to hatch, incubator or broody. I never use anything abrasive on the egg shell that might compromise the bloom. Slightly dirty eggs don't bother me but if an egg is dirty enough that I feel I need to clean it, I don't set the egg to start with.

 

[DIYGuy24]

Hi, I know this is a very old thread and doesn't look like op has been on in years. I'm crossing Araucana with Rir and I was curious what color egg variety op got.

 

[Slothinc]

Hi, I know this is a very old thread and doesn't look like op has been on in years. I'm crossing Araucana with Rir and I was curious what color egg variety op got.

Is the RIR the hen? What shade is her egg? I believe they lay tan?

If the arucana has 2 blue egg genes (like it should) then all of the babies will have 1 blue egg gene, so hens from that pairing will all lay a blue/green egg.

 

[DIYGuy24]

Yeah that's what my research found, but I was hoping for pictures. Guess I just need to be patient for a few 2-6 more weeks. Thanks for the quick response though!