The Evolution of Atlas: A Breeding (and Chat) Thread

[1muttsfan]

Boy, hatch day is getting close now!

 

[speckledhen]

Yes! I'm excited, hope it is a bright spot in my spring. I haven't hatched shipped eggs since the Brahmas and Hector.

 

[speckledhen]

I touched base with Jamie Duckworth this morning to ask how the hens were laying and how fertility seems and this is his answer:

I have some due this Saturday in the incubator. Fertility us about 60% from the 10 day candling. We'll see how the hatch rate is. I think in a few weeks it will be better.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Getting closer Cynthia.

 

[1muttsfan]

 

[speckledhen]

I shot Jamie a note, asking how the hatch went that was due this past Saturday. His reply:

It was pretty good, about 75%
I have another hatch Saturday.

So, in a couple of weeks closer to spring, the fertility should be even better. I just need a decent hatch with a few girls and a couple of males to choose from for my main breeder. If I happened to have a great hatch, I might keep two, but we'll see. Then, I can be self-sustaining in the BR category again.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I shot Jamie a note, asking how the hatch went that was due this past Saturday. His reply:

It was pretty good, about 75%
I have another hatch Saturday.

So, in a couple of weeks closer to spring, the fertility should be even better. I just need a decent hatch with a few girls and a couple of males to choose from for my main breeder. If I happened to have a great hatch, I might keep two, but we'll see. Then, I can be self-sustaining in the BR category again.

That's very exciting news. I'm so excited for you.

 

[speckledhen]

Time to crank up the incubator! Jamie Duckworth just emailed me:

I just unloaded the incubator and the hatch was great! I had 18 of 20 eggs hatch. When would you like eggs? How many do you want? Would you want them shipped or do you want to picked up near Gastonia. I will be at my parents next weekend if that fits your schedule. Let me know.
Thanks!

I'd love to meet up with him, but we (Tom, specifically) cannot drive to Gastonia, NC which is about four hours away, so they'll have to be shipped. I pray the P.O. is kind to me and so is my incubator. Sounds like fertility is fantastic and I've had decent luck in the past with shipped eggs so I guess we'll see. They're quite an investment, but I have known that for awhile. Back when I auctioned eggs from my Stukel flock, I got $50 for a doz plus extras, but those days are just gone because of feed and shipping costs and the quality of Rock I want. I've had some awesome BRs from both Stukel and Jill Burke. Jill herself is not a huge hen, but her daughter, Maddie, with Hector is big and gorgeous. If she wasn't already 8 years old and winding down her laying career, she could easily go in with the new group. I wouldn't do that to her, though.

Here is the next one:
I have kept my prices the same this year as the past several years. the eggs are 1 dozen/$150, 2 dozen/$275 and 3 dozen/$350 including shipping to you. I always include extras. I wrap each egg in bubble wrap and then put them in a box of Styrofoam peanuts. I can ship you some this week or next week. I'll include some from different pens and mark the eggs also so you can mark the chicks. I can do PayPal. Let me know how you want to proceed.
Thank you,
Jamie

Since I just need a few pullets plus a couple of cockerels to choose for my main breeding male, I replied that a dozen plus whatever extras he sent would be great this time around, that as soon as he can get them to me is what I'd prefer and we'll see how the hatch goes. And I'll pay for that today so he can get on it quickly. The incubator will be set up again by the end of the day.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Time to crank up the incubator! Jamie Duckworth just emailed me:

I just unloaded the incubator and the hatch was great! I had 18 of 20 eggs hatch. When would you like eggs? How many do you want? Would you want them shipped or do you want to picked up near Gastonia. I will be at my parents next weekend if that fits your schedule. Let me know.
Thanks!

I'd love to meet up with him, but we (Tom, specifically) cannot drive to Gastonia, NC which is about four hours away, so they'll have to be shipped. I pray the P.O. is kind to me and so is my incubator. Sounds like fertility is fantastic and I've had decent luck in the past with shipped eggs so I guess we'll see. They're quite an investment, but I have known that for awhile. Back when I auctioned eggs from my Stukel flock, I got $50 for a doz plus extras, but those days are just gone because of feed and shipping costs and the quality of Rock I want. I've had some awesome BRs from both Stukel and Jill Burke. Jill herself is not a huge hen, but her daughter, Maddie, with Hector is big and gorgeous. If she wasn't already 8 years old and winding down her laying career, she could easily go in with the new group. I wouldn't do that to her, though.

Here is the next one:
I have kept my prices the same this year as the past several years. the eggs are 1 dozen/$150, 2 dozen/$275 and 3 dozen/$350 including shipping to you. I always include extras. I wrap each egg in bubble wrap and then put them in a box of Styrofoam peanuts. I can ship you some this week or next week. I'll include some from different pens and mark the eggs also so you can mark the chicks. I can do PayPal. Let me know how you want to proceed.
Thank you,
Jamie

Since I just need a few pullets plus a couple of cockerels to choose for my main breeding male, I replied that a dozen plus whatever extras he sent would be great this time around, that as soon as he can get them to me is what I'd prefer and we'll see how the hatch goes. And I'll pay for that today so he can get on it quickly. The incubator will be set up again by the end of the day.

That's great news Cynthia. I've had the best luck with eggs wrapped and shipped like that. I can't wait until they arrive. Good thing hatching only takes 3 weeks.

 

[speckledhen]

That's great news Cynthia. I've had the best luck with eggs wrapped and shipped like that. I can't wait until they arrive. Good thing hatching only takes 3 weeks.

When I used to ship mine, I bubblewrap'd the heck out of them, packed them so they were unable to move, sometimes with rolled up bubblewrap I would get free from a local furniture store. I used some shipping peanuts, but if I recall, it was mostly just to fill in the smaller spaces. Either way, he knows how to pack them and says he will ship on Monday. I hope they arrive before we get the single digit night temps we're supposed to by next Thursday.
I didn't order two dozen because 1) I couldn't see spending that much all at once on this after spending thousands for tree removal, and 2) I didn't want to put all my eggs in one basket (bator) just in case something went wrong. I had planned to spend at least $125 so had the money set aside for months. If I want more later, I can think about that then.