Michigan Hatchers! What'cha got cookin?

[aart]

@aart what happened with the leg issue chick? Mines still doing good but I did cull 2 others. Had not grown at all, peeping non-stop, and just very weak.

I culled it, was hard as it did not go smoothly, but I did it. Put me off eggtopsying the non-hatchers tho, just cartoned them back up with the 6 clears and into the dumpster.
6 thriving chicks out of 22 eggs set and 16 to lockdown...not a great percentage, but considering they got collected during the polar vortex.....

The 6 are doing great tho. 3 are going to live somewhere else, and I get to keep my favorite 3, and I got these Welsummers:

 

[jorey]

I think anythng that manages to get hatched these last 3 months is great. I like the look of the welsummer. Have heard good things about them. Glad you decided to get them.

 

[gladahmae]

If you let them go too long you are risking exploding eggs IMO. And you also have to consider the genetics of a chick that would hatch sooo late; do you really want something in your flock that has to survive michigan winters that could barely make it out if the shell? Many breeders pitch whatever is left a day or 2 past hatch day because they don't want "late hatch" or weak genetics in their flock.


For culling I have a shoe box and I put them in my sub zero freezer. Tried the gas thing and it didn't go well. Maybe I thought it would work faster than it does though.

 

[jorey]

@gladahmae I used the freezer method also.

 

[aart]

Do they cheep for a long time in the freezer? I use the freezer for fish, loppers for the chick.

 

[gladahmae]

I've only had to do it for a few times, and they usually aren't cheeping by the time I put them in.

 

[JackieandChicks]

I know what you are saying about weak chicks - I might cut it short at day 25. Heck if they do hatch late maybe they aren't so weak after all!

I am planning to hatch more end of the month if the eggs that I have lined up work out

 

[jorey]

@aart mine weren't cheeping much at that point either. I also planned it so I put in then left for an hour just in case they did. I knew if I heard them I would have been tempted to pull them out.

 

[jlynnet]

I have a broody. She's not even a year old yet. We gave her some eggs, so we'll see what happens. She's been on that next for about a week. Maybe a few days before that. We gave her eggs about a week ago.

 

[Candy442]

I have a broody. She's not even a year old yet. We gave her some eggs, so we'll see what happens. She's been on that next for about a week. Maybe a few days before that. We gave her eggs about a week ago.

awww...very cool! I sure hope one of our 11 pullets have the broody in them . What breed is your broody?