July 4th Hatch-A-Long?

[blogachick]

Here are some of my new babies!

They are gorgeous!!! Congrats!

 

[blogachick]

just had two turkeys hatched. the one is really big n healthy lookin. the other needs some time to dry

Do you have pictures? I've never seen a baby turkey!

 

[blogachick]

Day 21 was at 10:30 am this morning and I believe all have hatched that will hatch. I have 25 loud chicks and 1 that is getting a super slow start. (She was glued to the inside of the shell so I had to help).

I should have almost all sex-linked chicks, and if that is the case, my male to female ratio is very heavy on the males as usual. I believe I have about 9 females and 17 males. I have a production red roo over Delaware hens--- Im hoping the ladies will be excellent layers and the gents will be good to eat. We shall see!

Congratulations! What great success! Pictures??

If you have the time could you tell me what sex-linked chicks are? I feel like I'm in kindergarten and all the rest of you are in college!

 

[blogachick]

It's exciting to read about all the hatchings. This is my first time and it seems things are not going well. I started with eighteen eggs but only six looked good on day eighteen. Today, only one pipped but though the chick started a 'zip' she just can't seem to finish the job. I've been told that if a chick can't get out of the shell on her own she's not likely to be viable. But it's so hard just watching her try and listening to her chirping. The book says to give her 24 hours. Any advice?

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

Hello, I just came across this thread, I have 2 goose eggs in the incubator, lockdown was Sat, one internally piped yesterday evening, the other, not yet. But could have babies tomorrow.
First time with geese. So I'm nervous.lol
Congratulations on everyone's new babies!!!!

 

[blogachick]

My eggs (I have 3 the hens have not destroyed.) Due on the 5th. one looks like in the air cell, one has looks like a day 18 should, and one had a crack/hole on the tip. I brought the 3 of them in to incubate, because a hen would probably eat the cracked egg. I put on nail polish, but in hind sight, I should have tried tape this late in the game. although I still see veins in candling, and I don't think the nail polish has hurt it. I am happy for the rest of you getting babies.

Good luck! I hope you get babies.

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

It's exciting to read about all the hatchings. This is my first time and it seems things are not going well. I started with eighteen eggs but only six looked good on day eighteen. Today, only one pipped but though the chick started a 'zip' she just can't seem to finish the job. I've been told that if a chick can't get out of the shell on her own she's not likely to be viable. But it's so hard just watching her try and listening to her chirping. The book says to give her 24 hours. Any advice?

I've helped mine and so have others. It a timing thing. Too soon and it won't have fully absorbed the yolk, too late and well, baby won't survive. You can gently use your finger nail, be sure you've scrubbed, where it's starting to zip help it unzip a bit more. Just go around the shell a bit so it's kinda hinged only on one side. Let baby do the rest. Keep an eye on it, it'll flail around a bit until it's free. If anything is still attached to it's bottom, leave it and let it dry and absorb. If it's still chirping and fighting leave it be, only help if it's getting too tired. Trust your gut, you'll know when it's time. And if you lose it don't feel bad. Just do your best, stay calm and know that sometimes it's not meant to be. Good luck!

 

[CABINHOLLOWNC]

They are gorgeous!!! Congrats!

Thank you!!! I just love them so much!!!!

 

[TheBushidoWay]

tomorrow, they look pretty much the same, bigger and a bump on their head,the very beginnings of the snood

 

[Maeschak]

Sure thing- Per Wikipedia:
"Sex-links[1] are cross-bred chickens whose color at hatching is differentiated by sex, thus making chick sexing an easier process. " (Cross-bred simply means chickens of two different breeds are used to make the chicks).

I am making red sex link chicks. This means, very generally, that I am using a rooster that contains the "gold" gene to cover (mate) a hen that contains the "Silver" gene. The offspring will be born with either yellow/white or red/brown down. The yellow/white chicks are boys and red/brown chicks are girls. The plus side to sex-links chicks is that you can immediately identify boys vs girls and you should get 'hybrid vigor' in the chicks. Hybrid vigor generally means that the chicks will have better qualities than either of the parents. So, the hybrid vigor offspring will usually lay more and larger eggs than either of the parent stock and will often grow faster and larger. So for me, that hopefully gives me hens that will lay better than either parent stock and the roosters will hopefully grow more quickly and get heavier than either parent stock. (I could be off on some of this, but that is my understanding).

I am using a production Rhode Island Red rooster (hatchery stock) to mate with Delaware hens (breeder stock) to make my sex links.

The bad part of sex-links, however, is that the offspring are just hybrids that will never breed true (meaning the babies of the sex links will never be like the parent) and will lose their hybrid vigor.

Hope that helps a tiny bit. There are also different types of sex-link chickens such as a black sex-link which has to do with barring patterns of the hen. Im not sure, but I believe you can make a black sex-link with a gold gened rooster (RIR, New Hampshire, etc) with a barred rock hen (barring gene).