International Black Copper Marans Thread - Breeding to the SOP

[TheBajan]

yes 35% average .dry hatching is a best for marans eggs .other thing is to keep the humidity down when they start hatching by opening all the vent holes .because when the first eggs start hatching the humidity will rise in the hatcher .{ that what kill the chicks in the eggs }.so keeping it low is very hard and important .

chooks man

To be clear, what I hear you saying is that when they go into lockdown I should not raise the humidity? I should continue to keep it where it is? Currently it is 29%. I will weigh them again in three days and hope that the air sacs have grown sufficiently. I just want to be sure I understand you correctly. Also, I already have all the air holes open.

 

[Chooks man]

To be clear, what I hear you saying is that when they go into lockdown I should not raise the humidity? I should continue to keep it where it is? Currently it is 29%. I will weigh them again in three days and hope that the air sacs have grown sufficiently. I just want to be sure I understand you correctly. Also, I already have all the air holes open.

yes .keeping a same humidity in the bator and the hatcher .
other things to consider too is ,
the weight of the egg .under 70g or over 70g . eggs weighting under 70g need more humidity than egg over 70g.
the color of the egg is important too .lighter eggs do better with high humidity than darker eggs . .darker eggs need lower humidity .
marans eggs are not like any other normal eggs .marans eggs are special .so they need special setting .

chooks man

 

[Punkybrewster]

Thanks for the valuable info @chooksman.

So do you recommend moving newly hatched chicks to a separate incubator to dry off?

Will opening it a lot risk shrink wrapping of the other hatching eggs like it does other breeds or will they benefit from this by lowering the humidity in the incubator?

 

[TheBajan]

yes .keeping a same humidity in the bator and the hatcher .
other things to consider too is ,
the weight of the egg .under 70g or over 70g . eggs weighting under 70g need more humidity than egg over 70g.
the color of the egg is important too .lighter eggs do better with high humidity than darker eggs . .darker eggs need lower humidity .
marans eggs are not like any other normal eggs .marans eggs are special .so they need special setting .

chooks man

Thank you. Most of my eggs are very dark and under 70g. There are three that started out over 70g though. I really appreciate your knowledge and input.

 

[marchick]

It was 107 degrees farenheit today. Way too hot. I went out to refresh the water so it would be cool. Took a couple pictures.

 

[Chooks man]

Thanks for the valuable info @chooksman.

So do you recommend moving newly hatched chicks to a separate incubator to dry off?

Will opening it a lot risk shrink wrapping of the other hatching eggs like it does other breeds or will they benefit from this by lowering the humidity in the incubator?

you welcome.
I move the newly hatched chicks every 8 hours { 3 times in 24h period} avoiding opening the hatcher so often .
I keep the humidity dry in the hatcher and soon the first chicks hatch I start opening the vent holes to regulate the humidity .I will not let passes 55% .
in my experience of hatching 1000 and 1000 of marans eggs, the hatch rate has many factors . not just the temperature /humidity in the bator/hatcher .
fresh eggs always hatch first . 2 or 3 days old eggs hatch first before a week old eggs ,
a week old eggs hatch first before 10 day old eggs .
so if the eggs are a mixture of different days ,than it is very hard to hatch them all safe in the same time .normally the older eggs they chicks will die before hatching cause of the high humidity .

with a 2 days old eggs ,hatch rate reached 100% at day 21 exact . eggs from a same pen where collected a week after and rested for a week ,the hatch rate was different 80% and lasted 2 days .{ day 21 and 22 } all the fresh eggs hatched in day 21 the rest hatched day 22 or did not hatch ,chicks too big ,

chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

Thank you. Most of my eggs are very dark and under 70g. There are three that started out over 70g though. I really appreciate your knowledge and input.

if they are under 70g ,than don t worry too much .
larger the eggs are ,the harder to hatch them under high humidity .

chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

@marchick
both look great .
Black Jack is chunkier but Ace is colorful .
love to see ace fully mature . he will be sublimely colored .
both are keeper 100% they complement each other . mass and body color

chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

@marchick
Black Jack look great love his deep chest .the width of his shoulder . long back and great tail angle .
they say you can not breed a good BC from BLC stock . you done it all wrong my friend . hahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
BRAVO .

chooks man

chooks man

 

[Chooks man]

@marchick
this guy his copper is not uniform , his lancets are lighter . rather than that he is great . gorgeous Blue /gorgeous shoulder color . but Black Jack and Ace are greater .
is he the best of the BLC cockerels you ve got ?

chooks man

choks man