NY chicken lover!!!!

[marquisella]

Quote: Marans are harder to hatch because of that dark color. It make the shells harder, so not only is it tougher for the chicks to break through, the eggs don't dry down because it also makes a barrier that keeps the eggs wetter. If you open the shell of an unhatched Marans, 9 times out of 10m, its watery inside, or if its sticky so it couldnt move around. That is why I use the dry hatching, I know you said you tried it & didn't like it, but everyone has to adjust it for their own area. I am hatching now in a Sportsman, and just put water in it once a week. Then up the humidity in a Genesis that i use for the hatching the last 3 days. If the chicks develope without too much humidity, and then at the end higher humidity helps soften the shell, the hatch rate will be higher. And of course, its the darkest eggs that are the hardest to hatch because they have more brown coating.

That is one reason I bought that monstrosity incubator. To see if Marans hatch better in it. I'm having an issue with the temps, won't go up over 79. Now, its in an unheated barn, and I'm impressed that it stayed steady at 79 all day and night, -13 this am, so I'm thinking either the element isn't heating up like it should, or something else. I put in a new wafer, but it hasn't even had a chance to work yet due to the low temp its staying at. puzzled....

 

[Lynzi777]

The frost bitten part of Gru's comb has begun to fall off. It'll just be nicely rounded now LOL no points :-(

 

[rancher hicks]

Marans are harder to hatch because of that dark color. It make the shells harder, so not only is it tougher for the chicks to break through, the eggs don't dry down because it also makes a barrier that keeps the eggs wetter. If you open the shell of an unhatched Marans, 9 times out of 10m, its watery inside, or if its sticky so it couldnt move around. That is why I use the dry hatching, I know you said you tried it & didn't like it, but everyone has to adjust it for their own area. I am hatching now in a Sportsman, and just put water in it once a week. Then up the humidity in a Genesis that i use for the hatching the last 3 days. If the chicks develope without too much humidity, and then at the end higher humidity helps soften the shell, the hatch rate will be higher. And of course, its the darkest eggs that are the hardest to hatch because they have more brown coating.

That is one reason I bought that monstrosity incubator. To see if Marans hatch better in it. I'm having an issue with the temps, won't go up over 79. Now, its in an unheated barn, and I'm impressed that it stayed steady at 79 all day and night, -13 this am, so I'm thinking either the element isn't heating up like it should, or something else. I put in a new wafer, but it hasn't even had a chance to work yet due to the low temp its staying at. puzzled....

What do you mean "dry hatch"?

What I did this time around was an experiment. I took some eggs and buffed them with a dry coarse green scrubby. Of the now three that did hatch two were buffed and one not. One that appears to have nearly made is also a "buffed" egg. I will try again but the next time use a piece of sand paper to see if that helps.

While the humidity was over 65% things still look dry to me.

All the EE's eggs have hatched. It looks as though only two Del eggs have not. One is still working. I'm satisfied with the hatch over all but disappointed to only get 3 out of nine marans. It does seem strange that they have such a hard time. Broody hens seem to do better. I wonder if it's because they help the chicks to hatch.

Still I wonder if it's genetics. Considering out of four original roos they all had crooked toes. Do you think you'd have a roo you can give me from your blues? I will be getting rid of the youngest of my roos if one or more of these new chicks is a roo, since he is meaner than second skimmings.

 

[Lynzi777]

I was recently just talking to the woman i was supposed to get the trio of silkies from and she informed she was doing dry hatches as well. So this time around with the eggs I have in the Brinsea, I haven't been keeping the water filled. I don't know what the humidity is in there but I haven't been adding the water. I only plan to at the very end of the hatch, at lockdown. She said her results have been better as of late doing it this way than worrying about humidity thru out the whole hatching process.

Edited to add: so far this is one of my greatest hatches as far as progress goes with the eggs. All 5 are developing and growing great!

 

[marquisella]

Quote: Do you mean blue Birchen? I have a real nice blue birchen roo you can use, he is in the stag pen. I'm also having issues with the Birchens. I get an egg a day which is very good, but only 1 out of 4 hatch even though they developed.So I'm stymied a s well...I think its cause they get too cold. I'll see when it warms up if it makes a difference.

Some people do sand the eggs, just around the middle where they should pip through. Open up one of the unhatched where the air cell is & see if when you move it around, can you see water moving under the membrane. If you can, it drowned due to too high humidity in the beginning. I always have a very small air cell when I candle the marans. Much smaller than the other eggs. Its hard to balance hatching Marans with other breeds that don't have that brown coating.

 

[bakingintherain]

So I candled my mixed batch of eggs and I'm six for six on EEs, six for eight on leghorns, and all the mystery browns are developing. Woo! I'm thinking the only reason those two leghorns aren't coming along is because it was so cold and those two might have sat out overnight in it, since sometimes the leghorn girl is a late layer.

Now I'm off to call the hatchery because they still haven't said yet either way whether they're sending my chicks and gosling yet...grr. And I placed the order months ago.

I am placing our order from privett today if you want to add polish to that (or anything else) let me know

 

[rancher hicks]

Do you mean blue Birchen? I have a real nice blue birchen roo you can use, he is in the stag pen. I'm also having issues with the Birchens. I get an egg a day which is very good, but only 1 out of 4 hatch even though they developed.So I'm stymied a s well...I think its cause they get too cold. I'll see when it warms up if it makes a difference.

Some people do sand the eggs, just around the middle where they should pip through. Open up one of the unhatched where the air cell is & see if when you move it around, can you see water moving under the membrane. If you can, it drowned due to too high humidity in the beginning. I always have a very small air cell when I candle the marans. Much smaller than the other eggs. Its hard to balance hatching Marans with other breeds that don't have that brown coating.

Well here's the run down.

Of the Marans 3 hatched on their own. One I checked and it had died but the breaks in the shell weren't near the beak. One I said the heck with it since it was breaking the shell "upwards" over the top, I took it out and cracked the shell and it's out now. Another was a third of the way and I just took it out and cracked the shell. Another had just started and I cracked that ones shell too.

My Marans have very hard shells. Also I have been placing them in the egg carton sitting up like in the turner. From now on I will lay the marans eggs on the floor and see if that helps.

I can only surmise that it's a genetic thing with chicks too large. They're my second best layers. sometimes even better than my Delawares. Only one Del has not hatched and doesn't look like it pipped.

That will be 27 chicks so my worries were for nothing. One Del and Two marans not hatched.

Have you got a picture of that Blue roo? Where did you get him?

 

[Lynzi777]

Just came home from picking up at school...a coyote in a field caught my eye. Thank goodness it was wayyyy far awat from my house. Although I'm sure they travel quite far.

 

[marquisella]

Quote: I hatched him last summer from 2 I had. I hatched out a couple of birchens from my black coppers. They are from Bev Davis. Greenfire got theirs from Bev as well, from black coppers. I always help out a chick if its started to pip the shell. There are a lot of reasons that they get stuck, so why not? If I remember, I'll try to take a pic, he is a beauty, not quite as silvery as yours, but a great body and came from a very dark egg.

 

[Pyxis]

Ideal did indeed ship my poultry! All arrived today and everyone made it except one polish chick. Another was on the brink of going but I saved it and it was running around the brooder when I left. The gosling is so sweet and cute and already talks to me when I pick her up. It's so adorable, she already stretches her neck out to talk like a big goose. And she'll be the biggest goose I own; bigger than Lacie and the sebastopols, whose eggs I also recieved today, all in good shape. Goslings truly are the cutest, sweetest babies I think. This will be my first time doing goose eggs so wish me luck. I still don't know whether to incubate them vertically or horizontally so if anyone has any advice that would be great. I'm also really happy because I ordered a mystery crested chick and what I recieved is, I believe, a sultan. I hope it's a pullet!

Also some sad news - I found Thistle's daughter, Plum, dead in the coop today. Not a mark on her. She was halfway hidden under the nesting boxes just splayed out on the floor with her feet behind her. I really have no idea what happened there. She was only three, so it wasn't old age or anything, and she was high up on the pecking order and nice and fat, so it isn't likely she was bullied away from food or something else. In fact, she was running around just fine yesterday. I wonder if the sudden drop of temperature overnight got her, but I don't even really think it would be that because she was a very fluffy, very feathery hen. She even had 'leg warmers' - nice feathered legs.

Baking I'll text you about the order. There may be some things I'd like