Serama Hatch-A-Long!!

[darkbluespace]

It must be Spring because I am having a broody explosion! I tried to relocate a couple and that half worked ; ) One was off her eggs till they were cold so I put her back in her coop and gave her back her eggs....sigh... I marked them all so I can identify them.

I have a dozen eggs that are a couple days old if anyone wants to hatch 'em... $25 including shipping... they can go out today!

 

[Skink]

I'm very sad.. after a couple weeks, it has become apparent that my most recent serama hatch has a baby with some issues. She's not just cross beaked (which was not apparent at hatch,) she went splay-legged after hatch. She's been taped up for about a week now and I've not seen much in the way of improvement. She gets around just fine, but she's a very quiet, shy baby. To top it off, I think she might be the only pullet in that $80 batch of eggs, and I certainly can't breed her. It is not proving to be easy for me to get in to this breed!

 

[darkbluespace]

I'm very sad.. after a couple weeks, it has become apparent that my most recent serama hatch has a baby with some issues. She's not just cross beaked (which was not apparent at hatch,) she went splay-legged after hatch. She's been taped up for about a week now and I've not seen much in the way of improvement. She gets around just fine, but she's a very quiet, shy baby. To top it off, I think she might be the only pullet in that $80 batch of eggs, and I certainly can't breed her. It is not proving to be easy for me to get in to this breed!

Ahh, I am sorry to hear that, poor little thing. I can't imagine why you are getting so many roosters! It just doesn't seem fair! If you lived closer I'd give you some of mine. My last hatch was near 100% so I figure about half of them have got to be girls... in theory.

 

[DRGLENNON]

I candled eggs yesterday, day 7 . Five out of eight fertile.

All but one has lost 5-6% wt. but the last one has lost 8%. Humidity has been 42-45 % most of the time. Does anyone have any suggestions as far as humidity. Is 5-6% loss on day 7 too much?

 

[DRGLENNON]

Day 14(Thur.) candling 1 I thought was developing was clear and 1 looks to have quit kept it to be sure. so four into lockdown 2 very questionable and 2 look good.

I also have 3 fast moving little buggers at 7 days and just set 7 more from one pullet that I have not got anything but clears from. I wonder if I should trim her feathers?

 

[Skink]

Day 14(Thur.) candling 1 I thought was developing was clear and 1 looks to have quit kept it to be sure. so four into lockdown 2 very questionable and 2 look good.

I also have 3 fast moving little buggers at 7 days and just set 7 more from one pullet that I have not got anything but clears from. I wonder if I should trim her feathers?

I wouldn't trim her tail feathers unless she's getting a messy bottom. If her poo can clear them, a cloacal kiss should be able to. Maybe put her with another male? Hens make the last decision on who gets to fertilize her eggs even when dealing with less than polite roos, and if she's unimpressed with the male who has tread her she'll just expel his donation. She might just be very thoroughly unimpressed with her boyfriend!

If that rooster isn't over other hens, it would be worth trying artificial insemination first to see if maybe the problem lies with him. If that doesn't take, try her with another rooster that you know is fertile. If that takes, then he's infertile, if not than she is. Fertility troubles are common with serama so it is worth taking in to consideration even if it is an embarrassing process for some

 

[darkbluespace]

Day 14(Thur.) candling 1 I thought was developing was clear and 1 looks to have quit kept it to be sure. so four into lockdown 2 very questionable and 2 look good.

I also have 3 fast moving little buggers at 7 days and just set 7 more from one pullet that I have not got anything but clears from. I wonder if I should trim her feathers?

Good luck with the eggs!


I have been crazy busy with all the chicks, broody hens and birds in general. It is Spring for sure. I have two broody hens hatching right now and two more that are trying to sit on the same nest. I tried to move the last two, but they are not having it. One is a nest stealing, egg hoarding maniac. Miraculously the eggs seem to be doing well! I just keep sorting them out.

 

[Tajann]

I am curious what incubator and brooder set ups serama hatchers are using.

They are such a difficult breed to hatch eggs from and the babies seem to need extra care. As I've only had seramas for a little under a year it has been a difficult breed to get into and the occasional mysterious chick death or fully formed unhatched egg has been very frustrating. I've never had these kinds of problems with full sized chicks.

Hatch rates seem to still be very low but I don't yet want to invest in an expensive retail incubator. I'm seeing an unusually high percentage of quitter eggs but am only using a Little Giant incubator with two thermometers/humidity readers, a fan, and hand turning.

When I let my hens go broody they don't lay for a very long time afterwards and although hatch rate is higher, I'm seeing increased unexplained chick death than with brooder babies. I'm thinking a broody serama hen needs to be moved to her own completely separate space?

I just bought a brinsea ecoglow as I'm tired of my heat lamp bulbs randomly dying and the high electricity usage but am still waiting for it to be delivered. I'm pretty sure I lost two chicks from chill when the last bulb went out in the middle of the night.

I've had difficulty in introducing fully feathered chicks to being fully outside with the adult birds. I've relied on cages placed within the target pen. Although my birds don't tend to peck or be mean (I successfully have three mature roosters in the same pen with 9 hens) I am still seeing a lot of stress on the half grown juveniles. I've recently built a good sized serama coop (everything from the nesting boxes to the rails and doors being proportional to their size), and am just about ready to move everyone over. But I am thinking about adding a small pen within the pen for the juvenile birds I'd like to acclimate and at least one broody box on ground level. I'm wondering if anyone else has found this to be more successful and worth the time/expense and what set up everyone is successfully using.

I tend to do staggered hatches, setting eggs when I have enough to warrant it. Does anyone else do this and how do you brood your chicks? (being of several sizes.) What incubator, incubator settings are you using? It seems like if the humidity is as high as is often recommended the chicks have difficulty hatching.

Do you wean off of light/heat the same way you do full sized chicks? (my mother-in-law consistently has every batch of chicks off of lights by 6 weeks but I just have not been able to do this)

Thanks so much!

 

[darkbluespace]

I am curious what incubator and brooder set ups serama hatchers are using.

They are such a difficult breed to hatch eggs from and the babies seem to need extra care. As I've only had seramas for a little under a year it has been a difficult breed to get into and the occasional mysterious chick death or fully formed unhatched egg has been very frustrating. I've never had these kinds of problems with full sized chicks.

Hatch rates seem to still be very low but I don't yet want to invest in an expensive retail incubator. I'm seeing an unusually high percentage of quitter eggs but am only using a Little Giant incubator with two thermometers/humidity readers, a fan, and hand turning.

When I let my hens go broody they don't lay for a very long time afterwards and although hatch rate is higher, I'm seeing increased unexplained chick death than with brooder babies. I'm thinking a broody serama hen needs to be moved to her own completely separate space?

I just bought a brinsea ecoglow as I'm tired of my heat lamp bulbs randomly dying and the high electricity usage but am still waiting for it to be delivered. I'm pretty sure I lost two chicks from chill when the last bulb went out in the middle of the night.

I've had difficulty in introducing fully feathered chicks to being fully outside with the adult birds. I've relied on cages placed within the target pen. Although my birds don't tend to peck or be mean (I successfully have three mature roosters in the same pen with 9 hens) I am still seeing a lot of stress on the half grown juveniles. I've recently built a good sized serama coop (everything from the nesting boxes to the rails and doors being proportional to their size), and am just about ready to move everyone over. But I am thinking about adding a small pen within the pen for the juvenile birds I'd like to acclimate and at least one broody box on ground level. I'm wondering if anyone else has found this to be more successful and worth the time/expense and what set up everyone is successfully using.

I tend to do staggered hatches, setting eggs when I have enough to warrant it. Does anyone else do this and how do you brood your chicks? (being of several sizes.) What incubator, incubator settings are you using? It seems like if the humidity is as high as is often recommended the chicks have difficulty hatching.

Do you wean off of light/heat the same way you do full sized chicks? (my mother-in-law consistently has every batch of chicks off of lights by 6 weeks but I just have not been able to do this)

Thanks so much!

I think in general quitters are either temp or nutrition and so likely temperature. I incubate mine at about 100 degrees and 35% humidity and really small eggs at 40ish or under a hen. I try to put broody hens in their own "apartment" somewhere, though I have a couple that are totally not cooperating. Miraculously, their eggs are still alive since they are sharing a nest and swap eggs all the time. So I really don't introduce young birds into a coup... I just make more coops ; ) I have really been finding that I cannot have more than one roo per coop... maybe I could if they were bigger, but I am finding that I really just have a few roos that I really want to breed . I do have this new generation just growing up and will be excited to see how they come out.

I have light bulbs on all my brooders and incubators and they are a pain. I run out regularly and sneak bulbs from lamps and such. My brooders are close enough that I can hear them if the light goes out there is loud chirping. It is worse when they go out in the bators.

In the brooder I have been mixing chick starter with corn meal and give them acidophilus and that seems to help. As they get older I reduce the wattage of their bulb and then take it away. They do manage but it takes some a while to get used to it especially when it starts to get dark. I put a blanket over them sometimes so their agony (and mine) is not so prolonged. Instant nighttime!

 

[DRGLENNON]

Good luck with the eggs!


I have been crazy busy with all the chicks, broody hens and birds in general. It is Spring for sure. I have two broody hens hatching right now and two more that are trying to sit on the same nest. I tried to move the last two, but they are not having it. One is a nest stealing, egg hoarding maniac. Miraculously the eggs seem to be doing well! I just keep sorting them out.

Thanks for the well wishes but the 2 quit just before pip.

I know have 2 at 14 days. I pulled the other today, It had a blood ring. I just set 12 more. I can't wait to have some luck like you. Thats funny, a nest stealing, egg hoarding maniac. lol. I had a RSL that stole eggs from my EE , just the blue ones. She stayed broody.

I wouldn't trim her tail feathers unless she's getting a messy bottom. If her poo can clear them, a cloacal kiss should be able to. Maybe put her with another male? Hens make the last decision on who gets to fertilize her eggs even when dealing with less than polite roos, and if she's unimpressed with the male who has tread her she'll just expel his donation. She might just be very thoroughly unimpressed with her boyfriend!

If that rooster isn't over other hens, it would be worth trying artificial insemination first to see if maybe the problem lies with him. If that doesn't take, try her with another rooster that you know is fertile. If that takes, then he's infertile, if not than she is. Fertility troubles are common with serama so it is worth taking in to consideration even if it is an embarrassing process for some

She does seem to be getting a messy bottom and quills growing in. That could be it or your right she took her time letting him breed. She wasn't to thrilled with him but I assumed it was her never breeding before. I have 1 roo with a hen who has been fertile since day 3 and the one pullet.I'm hoping its just stress of moving and establishing pecking order.She really wanted to dominate and has now moved to the bottom of the pecking order. He is definitely partial to the hen.We had him spend a few days with one and then the other to see if alone time might help. I just set her eggs from this week.I guess will see. I really hope I'm worried for nothing. No doubt before giving up on her I will try insemination. Thanks so much for the help and info.