May 2020 Hatch-A-Long

[FortCluck]

Yes, we freeze them first.
What is an instant pot?- do you mean a slow cooker?

Nope an instant pot. It's an electric pressure cooker. Best way to cooked older birds.

I do suggest resting them 5 days then freeze them.

You can cook from frozen with an instant pot.

 

[Minky]

ok we'll try in the pressure cooker next time.

 

[FortCluck]

I put in 4 duck eggs in the bator. My friends duckling needs a friend they offered to take a few ducks that we don't want for meat. We will get to see them any time we want

 

[kelseyk]

I don't have any eggs hatching in May.....yet. LOL! I have some of my barnyard crosses due to hatch April 30th, which will probably run over. Then I am planning on hatching some Call Ducks and my kids are planning to help hatch some Svarthona's and some D'Uccle's to show for 4-H (have to purchase the eggs for all 3 yet). May hatch some more barnyard crosses, Bielefelders, and some guinea's at some point too.

 

[ASteelman]

Well...... I grew them all out so I could see who would be the prettiest (keeping egg colour genes in mind) and then my husband had a "rooster day " and he processed the current rooster at the time (no one liked him much) and 9 of the cockerels (are they still cockerels at 6 months?) ... so I still have 5.

I found they aren't good for much but soup..(and even then...a bit dry and stringy). If anyone has a good cockerel recipe, please share!!

I'm toying with the idea of keeping a second flock on the far side of the house, so they can wander thru the veggie garden eating bugs etc... it would be about 500 ft from the barn/coop- so I'm not sure if the flocks would stay separate or not...

Anyways, that's what I did- and I have too many roosters! But I love how fancy they are!

With cockerels, I've had good results making soup in my crock pot (on low), and also following a traditional coq au vin recipe. Keep the temperature super low; a full boil toughens the meat. Like someone else has said it also helps to let the meat rest for several days in the fridge.

 

[ASteelman]

Joining the May group! This is my first hatch of the year out of my blue wheaten marans. I'm not clan breeding anymore but rather making specific selections.

These eggs are from my older two hens who have the best type. They're not very dark but large and very round. They were covered by a 'nephew' cockerel from a very dark egg (I'm loosely following a line breeding plan).

So hopefully I will get offspring with great type who lay darker, round eggs! Cross your fingers for me.

 

[BertyRoux]

Joining the May group! This is my first hatch of the year out of my blue wheaten marans. I'm not clan breeding anymore but rather making specific selections.

These eggs are from my older two hens who have the best type. They're not very dark but large and very round. They were covered by a 'nephew' cockerel from a very dark egg (I'm loosely following a line breeding plan).

So hopefully I will get offspring with great type who lay darker, round eggs! Cross your fingers for me.

Oh, those are beautiful! I just love the dark eggs.

I couldn't help myself, did a quick candle just now since I've been having such a fiddly time. 11/12 seem to have good development going on, the 12th one I just couldn't tell so it's a maybe for now - I'll check on it again after a while.

My phone was less than cooperative about taking pictures and blurred out the veining, but here's one of the sure ones:

 

[Honora]

Hello, joining this group! I am setting some shipped eggs tomorrow: 14 Swedish flowers, 6 bantam Wyandottes & 6 Orpingtons. The eggs arrived today & the air cells look a bit shook up, but hopefully I won’t have too bad of a hatch.

 

[gmjarvi]

Well. Oy. Around the 36 hour mark I noticed my turner seemed to be stuck in the same position. Checked it over the next 4 hours, which should have produced at least one shift and it did nothing, so now I'm hand turning. I'll have to fiddle with it once this batch is done.

Bummed I have to keep opening the incubator for turning. Also, those darn eggs are slippery and despite trying my best to be gentle, things are definitely getting jostled around somewhat. Ugh.

I will be totally unsurprised if I end up with a big 0 hatch!

FWIW, my best hatch ever was hand turned!

 

[gmjarvi]

My eggs from MH should arrive today or tomorrow...hopefully. The mail in Michigan has been super wonky lately...some things arrive days later than they are supposed to, and some arrive early! Either way, I'm antsy for them to get here! My broody Judy buff orp has finally committed so I want to swap out her eggs (most of them are fake or pullet eggs) for some of the legbar eggs and the welsummer egg.