SURVEY.....Calling All BCM Hatching Experts......Show us what ya got!

[cracking up]

Chickiemomma's went through the mail across the country but I drove and picked mine up. It didn't seem to matter. I've done well with shipped eggs before - from South Carolina to California so you should be ok.

Good luck with them.

 

[Katy]

Quote:
I'm sorry your hatch didn't go as well as you had hoped. I've been there and done that more times than I care to think about in the past.

I don't have BCMs, but I do have cuckoos and wheaten Marans so I hatch a lot of very dark eggs. I've never incubated them any different than I do my other breeds. They're often in the same incubator together. What day was today? My cuckoos are often the first to hatch while my wheatens are more often very late on day 21 or into day 22.

I doubt that you using egg cartons had anything to do with it. My hatch rates have went up since I started using cartons to hatch in....I'll never do it any other way. I lost more chicks who pipped and then partially zipped and were knocked around by earlier hatching chicks when I laid them on their sides.

 

[chickiemomma4]

Hi Everyone!

Thanks for your post. I am learning from this adventure. Cracked Up......I just peeled my other 2 that developed and they were quiters. They didn't develop all the way. So out of 14 eggs, I had 4 developing when I candled at day 10. I had 2 to pip and zip. One hopped right out. (My little PEEWEEZIE) and the other was fully formed and just gave up or couldn't breathe. I had trouble finding it's head too. It was at the bottom on the egg and all up underneath its body and wrapped up with its legs.

I don't think its the egg cartons because 4 weeks ago I put 26 eggs in the incubator. At day 10 I had 18 developing and all 18 hatched and popped right out. It was like pop corn going off. Now these were very fresh local eggs. They are Buff Orpingtons. This hatch was in egg cartons and I really liked the way things progressed.

My BCM's were shipped from California to NC. I think shipping is so hard on them. But Cracked UP.....you drove to get yours. I am wondering if they are so hard to hatch if it is a good thing to keep breeding them. Do other folks who have their own birds at home have a better hatch rate and less trouble? Thanks for all the great post!

 

[chickiemomma4]

Quote:
Hi usschicago1, yes I am guessing they are black copper marans (or brown reds).

Thanks for the thread chickiemomma4, can you tell me how far they have travelled? I am receiving eggs that will have travelled quite aways to get to me so I am all ears.

cheers, Dalles

Hi Dalles

My eggs were shipped from California to NC via Express mail and I picked them up at the Post Office so the mail carrier wouldn't shake them all up in his hot car. Yes, they are Black Copper Marans. What kind are yours? I have heard if you get a 50 hatch rate on shipped eggs you are doing good. I am thinking the BCM's are really hard to hatch. Someone told me on another thread that folks have better luck if it is their own birds at home. I just don't have any one near me that I know of that I could pick them up locally or just buy chicks. I hope you have a great hatch!

 

[chickiemomma4]

Hi Guys! Here is my little fluff ball BCM. Introducing PEEWEEZIE!

 

[lildinkem]

This past spring I bought from 6 different BCM breeders. The farthest was California, not only was that the most expensive, I had zero hatch and survive. One box that looked like it was floated down the river and punted by the mailman to my house had the best results. 6 outta 7 hatch and survive. So who knows when it comes to buying and shipping the eggs in. I had just as bad a result just going and picking some up as in the mail. Who knows. It is better to hatch out your own, then you don't feel the pain of lousy hathes. Good luck

 

[onthespot]

I sent some eggs to sandspoultry this spring. I sent sixteen regular sized eggs and just crammed as many pullet eggs in there as I had on hand, just cuz. I wanted to throw every egg I had his way for a good hatch. I thought the pullet eggs would be a bust, but hey, every egg is a chance... Well, he told me that the pullet eggs hatched the best of all. So go figure...

I have had good luck under silkies. Under silkies however, I have also had them pip the wrong end and drown. I think marans can't find their way out of a paper sack, to tell you the truth... at least a too high percentage of them. At home, with non-shipped eggs, sometimes I will only get 60% hatches, but that is in a Hovabator still air with a turner. Under broodies usually much better.

 

[robbdebbie]

Quote:
I got 2 to hatch out of the ones you sent me. I am really happy about that. I am new to hatching, and I am learning as I go. I did have 3 that pipped and then died. I might try the egg carton thing, because mine do seem to get kicked around. I also would help earlier with these knowing they might have trouble.

 

[onthespot]

I help routinely, If I see one pip a big hole or start to zip I usually reach in quickly, give the egg a little sqeeze to help with the cracking, or just lift the lid a little, then I spray the whole batch with a fine mist of water with a spray bottle and put the lid back on. The problem with doing that is you may end up with a generation of weak hatching chicks, which have weak hatching chicks. But when you start out, you need to go with what you got. I would rather rescue indiscriminately to get my seed stock going and then cull later on when you have a steady supply of eggs, but that's just me. I want a return on my investement, and will sort out the detail later after I get my start.

 

[lildinkem]

My best hatches is when I have 4 HOVA-BATORS going, I loose track of when to turn off the auto turners. And don't open to candle. The only time the lid gets opened is when I see the humidity at 35% and add water to get it back to 65%. I use the dry incubation method on large fowl. That is all I hatch. Last time I did this, I had 20 outta 24 eggs hatch. And that was with the auto turner on. They ere all Black Orps. I still have 17 chicks growing out nice from those 20 that hatched. And placed the other 3 with a friend who sold me my first Orp for $3.