Messing With Mother Nature, am I wrong? Discussion, Opinions.

[Jared77]

For all of those out there who keep talking about hens and how natural it is how many hens help their chicks out of an egg?

So in an artificial condition that you've set up to be nearly ideal for hatching do you feel the need to help a chick out? Because your hatching conditons were not ideal? If you got over 90% of the eggs to hatch how do you know it was the conditions that gave those few that have issue difficulty? How do you know it wasnt the chick itself?

 

[usschicago1]

Quote:
It was my understanding that chickens DO need legs to hatch. Recently I read some seramas cannot hatch because there legs are too short, and they cannot PUSH out of the egg. So while a chick could theoretically hatch with deformed legs, it needs legs to hatch.

 

[Omniskies]

Who said anything about a 90% hatch rate? If you set 48 eggs and 13 of them hatched, with a bunch stuck in the shell, is it the fault of the genetics or could you still be trying to learn how to hatch in the first place?

 

[phasian]

Like a lot of members have stated, if I am using an incubator, I am already away from a natural state for hatching. I do help chicks from time to time and the end results have been mixed; some successful, some decidedly not. If I am taking the responsibility to raise these chicks, I do feel it's my duty to nurture their lives as best as I am able- though I don't have to breed them.

I fully understand chickens' roles in human history and the food chain, but I also know that their will to live, like all beings is strong.

I had a Polish chick that hatched completely on its on in an incubator setting, and had its wee brain completely outside of its skull! I did cull this bird as there was no way it would have a humane life despite its surprising vigour....

 

[Redcatcher]

Quote:
It was my understanding that chickens DO need legs to hatch. Recently I read some seramas cannot hatch because there legs are too short, and they cannot PUSH out of the egg. So while a chick could theoretically hatch with deformed legs, it needs legs to hatch.

I had one hatch unassisted and while it had legs, they were INSIDE the abdominal cavity. Toes were protruding though the naval but were useless for assisting the chick out of the egg. I had posted photos here last fall that were very graphic.

 

[RioLindoAz]

As I was reading through your guys opinions, I realized that its true! We're already messing with Mother nature through artificial incubation. So my theory is that perhaps hens go broody at the time of year their genes are stronger to increase amount of hatchings. So by incubating eggs in the middle of winter, we may be picking up some of the bad stuff from the egg's parents.

Also, I think that regardless of incubation issues, chicks that have had issues hatching or are over-due shouldn't be bred. I believe that situations similar to accidents that occur in the incubator happen in nature. Say a hen fell in a puddle right before the chicks hatched, and as a result, 3 chicks died due to "mushy chick" and the other seven pulled through. Obviously, the chicks that died were much more week than the others. The next generation would therefore produce stronger chicks that would be less likely to perish in situations such as the one mentioned.

 

[Jared77]

Who said anything about a 90% hatch rate? If you set 48 eggs and 13 of them hatched, with a bunch stuck in the shell, is it the fault of the genetics or could you still be trying to learn how to hatch in the first place?

First off I said IF you get that kind of hatch rate then Id think its safe to assume its the chick not the set up. If your going to question what I said, then be sure to read everything I wrote.

And 2ndly even if I set 48 eggs and hatched 13 of them with a bunch stuck in the shell Id wouldn't assist them. Because I wouldnt take the risk of bad genes being passed along into my flock. Id feel bad about it, but I wouldn't assist them. It might be poor hatching practice, maybe its bad genes, I don't want to find out. I won't take that risk. Id check my notes, post up a copy of them to be reviewed by others to see what went wrong, and in all honesty repeat the breeding. If I got the same results with correcting my mistakes then its a bad pairing and Id cull both the rooster and the hen. If it was bad hatching practice then Id expect a much higher rate of successful hatching and that solves the matter right there.

But that way I've covered all my bases and know what needs to be done so the problem is resolved.​

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

My incubator sucks...I will help out any chicks that pip. It doesn't seem to affect their offspring when a "good" incubation happens with a hen.

 

[redhen]

Quote:
I agree..
if they pip..i try to help, if needed.

 

[cashdl]

I help my chicks out of the shell when needed and will continue to do so. Anyone who says that a hen will not help a chick out of the shell has never watched the process. Every broody I have ( I prefer using broodies but do incubate quite a bit ) has helped her chicks hatch. They peck at the shell and break little pieces off. I am always right there on hatching day like a little kid and have witnessed this behaviour many many times. They peck at the shell and make little encouraging noises to the chicks.

I raise a rare breed and every chick is important to me. I will say that of the ones I have helped out of the shell, some were weak after hatching and died later anyway, but the majority was due to temp and humidity fluxuation. Most of the ones I have helped hatch, I can tell pretty quickly if they are going to make it. They are strong and vigerous, and grow at the same rate as their mates that hatched on their own. If any of the week ones make it to adult hood, I would not and do not put them in the breeding pens. They go to the egg laying pens or the grow out for dinner pens.

Lanae