Problems hatching serama eggs

[tiki244]

The lady I got my cochins from feeds 20% chick starter and a handful of sunflower seeds every day and thats it. She gives oyster shell and lets them free range about 2 hours a day. She is a judge and has very nice birds and seems to be successful. So I am thinking it might be worth a try. I gotta walk to the store a block away, at my sons house now. BRB

 

[becky3086]

I hatched 3 eggs out of three when I tested my serama eggs for fertility but when I tried to let the serama hens hatch eggs themselves, I had no luck , they managed to break most of the air sacks. I have sold eggs to people though who have hatched babies as well. I feed them regular laying mash and some scratch.

 

[tiki244]

I also think you get better luck hatching eggs from the larger birds as parents. Good type, but a bit larger than what your shooting for in the babies.

 

[Chickenaddict]

I agree Kris, I try to let the cochins and mixed cochins hatch the eggs altho I have had great success with both daisy and dahlia hatching their own eggs. Faith did great as well. I think i am gonna try again under my broody cochin and if i get nothing this time around I will change their diet and see if it improves things. Ahh the mystery continues

Thanks everyone for the feedback I really appreciate it

 

[vpeterson]

Rachel, out of the six serama eggs I got from you, 3 made it to day 18 and were developing. Only one of the three pipped and zipped but then died in the shell. I felt at the time that it was the humidity.lIt was too low.(60s) I also wondered about it hatching out late. I thought that since they were seramas that they would be hatching early. I stopped turning them on day 16 because I expected an early hatch; this last egg did not pip until day 21.

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

what size are your birds, A size birds hatching rates are low,that if you use an A and a B hatch rates improve also some breeders make a habit of helping there birds hatch if your stock came from someone that did it will greatly reduce your hatch rates and the weirdest thing that I've found is that summer hatching of serama doesn't work the best hatches i get are between sept and march

 

[Chickenaddict]

I have 2 A class hens, 1 B, and 2 C's, the roosters are C & D. I only harvest the eggs from one of the A class hens who has proven to be fertile over and over again the other A class hen I don't breed, she is tiny ( 9 oz) and a little "off" lays weird shaped eggs, and also has a mild crossbeak. All the hens are anywhere from 8 months to over 1 year old so its not that the eggs are too small.

Vicky, I am sorry you didn't have any success either

this is just bumming me out bigtime, I had people counting on chicks! I am giving it one more shot, I set 8 eggs under my extra fluffy super psycho broody cochin. It blows my mind how I had excellent hatch rates before and now its gone

Let me know what I can do to make up for that, I feel aweful.

 

[vpeterson]

Don't feel awful. I think that they are just really hard to hatch. Your other eggs hatchted so easily. I also had some silver seabrights with that hatch. They looked dead after they hatched and took a long time to start moving around. they were also all covered with sticky goo even though they were at the same humidity as your designer eggs that hatched so effortlessly. I read somewhere that seabrights have a hard time hatching. I would like to try seramas again and would love to get eggs from you next spring. Maybe earlier in the season would help as well. Don't feel bad because I was very happy with that hatch.

 

[tiki244]

Thats true, I have "helped" a LOT of my Seramas hatch


ETA I know several people in this part of the country who havent had good hatch rates these past two months Hmmmm

 

[Chickenaddict]

Thanks Vicky, I am glad the others hatched great for you, they are very strong lil buggers

I will definately give you more serama eggs next spring, I should have a more diverse flock by then, more hens at least lol. Kris I found a few who have had the same problem too thats what made me post a thread so maybe all who are having trouble can try and figure it out. I got the next load under petunia the cochin, I think she is up to 11 eggs so we shall see what happens

I wonder if its the weather but then again the breed should be used to tropical weather so summer shouldn't be an issue?