Marans Thread for Posting Pics of Your Eggs, Chicks and Chickens

[onthespot]

Yes, but I get the opposite. I seem to get pullet heavy hatches. I don't have fantastic hatch rates yet, what with using still air Hovabators and not paying really good attention to them, but maybe the boys are less able to handle my lousy incubation techniques... who knows? I am always happy to hatch more pullets. I have a couple of quick easy outlets for roos of any age so to me it is all good, but nonetheless I seem to hatch more pullets from all varieties, BBS marans, CBM marans, and bantam cochins... Not a wide skew, but definitely noticeable every time.
PS my temps seem to run just a hair low because I have cooked a few batches by accident before.

 

[Krys109uk]

LOL brilliant. Pullets by far the better way.

There probably isn't any imbalance at all just chance. I was just made curious by siz 8003, I hadn't thought about that, presumable old wives tale for years.

Cripes those hovabators are difficult. I used some as hatchers & gave up....even ran dry the humidity was too high....I bet you'll get fantastic results when you get a proper incubator

 

[Crunchie]

Quote:
Oh no, are the older ones the ones I sent you?

I didn't send you all roo e g g s did I? Because yep, I only see one pullet in those second pics.

yup those are yours LOL every time I get marans this is what happens to me

I get all roos any one wanna give me a guess on the baby chicks?

I'm sorry. My last Cuckoo hatch was 5 pullets, 2 roosters. And that was out of 8 eggs set--so you could assume that the one that didn't hatch was male, and the numbers are still skewed significantly female. My Cuckoo hatches have always been (knock on wood, I've got 30+ in the 'bator right now) pullet heavy!!

In your chick pics, I see 2 pullets, 1 roo, and 2 I could go either way...

 

[Crunchie]

Quote:
The only Hova worth spending money on is the 1588, IMO. I get fabulous hatches in that, and for the money spent I think it's a good choice for someone who can't afford or doesn't need a cabinet incubator. I am having to use my older Hovabator (forget the model number--it does have a fan--1602??) as a hatcher, and it is craptastical at best.

 

[siz8003]

I have my incubator a little on the high side

maybe thats whats going on .............gosh darn it! Thats it I am going to bump it down a little.

 

[tfpets]

Quote:
I hear ya, baked a few chicks a couple of weeks ago myself - and walked in on my stupid LG trying to roast my Silver Cuckoo and Blue Cuckoos at a nice 108 degrees last night. After holding a steady 100.8 for two days, it bounced on us??? I hate the LG, I really do?? But I still hatched two little ones by babysitting it last night and dropping it to 99.7, it never got above 101 again. I dont know why it wont stay steady...I want another Genesis 1588, or I just cant ever do a staggered hatch again?? Nah, I need another Genesis 1588.
I get a decent balance of girls though - my hens seem to make more roosters than I do! I dont like to let the broody's do the work, they make more boys!
Tina

 

[onthespot]

I bought a used 1588 styrofoam one a couple of weeks ago. it has been holding steady and this morning I went to turn some eggs and they were stone cold. I guess it went belly up.

I don't have room in other bators, not sure what I will do... For now I put them on top of the other eggs in the turner. I guess if I took out two turners and finished them all by hand... I think it will put 75 other eggs at too much risk, just to save a couple that are probably a lost cause anyhow... decisions, decisions...

 

[Krys109uk]

I think it will put 75 other eggs at too much risk, just to save a couple that are probably a lost cause anyhow... decisions, decisions...

What a drag. That is nuisance. How far had the eggs gone? The earlier in the incubation the longer they seem to be able to survive being cold. I sometimes used to hatch our duck eggs in a Brinsea 48. Once I unplugged it when checking the eggs & forgot to turn it back on for two days............quite a few of the duckings still hatched.

I've had four different types of Brinsea incubator. Apart from the big industrial incubator, the various Brinseas were better than any of the other types of incubators I've used.​

 

[onthespot]

Well... here's the story on those couple eggs. I don't know how far along they are... I bought some Sebastopol eggs and candled at ten days and they all looked clear to me. I boiled them up and fed them to the dogs, and two had very small development in them. At first I thought I had boiled them alive, but after researching online, it looked like they quit at around four days, so I feel so much better. My friend has sebastopol geese and told me I could get a couple of eggs from hers, but that they had been piling up somewhat and sometimes sat on... so I chose two likely suspects and put them in the bator. They had large veins and shadows when I put them in there, and are now mostly darker looking one with a larger air sac, the other with a smaller one... hellifino when they are supposed to hatch, or if they will even make it. I just don't want to compromise some BBS marans, BLRW, copper black marans, Mr Frizzy, splash showgirls, F2 mille cochin and some plain ol mottled cochin eggs (because I need another backup roo just in case, cuz I only have one) and whatever else I have squeezed in those other two bators... for two heckifino sebastopol geese eggs that who knows when they are going to be ready to hatch and if/when/how it will be time. I figured when thy first pipped I would move them and boost the humidity and just wing it with those two... but I don't want to bump any of those "good egs" with dates written on top of them for those two of the iffiest ever eggs... I'm just going to squeeze them in there and let 'em rip whatever happens happens. If I take out a turner I can just lay them down and turn them quick from barely cracking the bator... They are far enough along that it will be hard to tell if anything is going on in the goose eggs now anyhow with just a small flashlight to candle with. My candler got the cord chewed and I ordered another one but it is not here yet.... I will give them a couple more weeks and maybe they will peep at me. By then everything else in there should be hatched anyhow, or moved to a hatcher.

 

[klf73]

Quote:
Actually, a lot of araucanas have tails. It's just one of the many challenges of breeding araucanas.

yes, but those have muffs, which araucana don't have