Tips on how to hatch bantams

[adrian]

I am getting some Japanese bantams, Cochins and Seramas soon, to hatch. I need to know some tips on how to hatch bantam chickens as I hear they are more difficult. I have hatched exotic eggs before, but anyone with a lot of experience with bantams could be invaluable to me.

For instance, does the humidity need to be any different? Should they be turned more, or less, than others? Do they need anything special? Any difference in temperature?


I want to get as good a hatch rate as I can.

 

[Paganbird]

I don't have "a lot of experience with bantams," but I have hatched silkies, cochins, & mille fleur D'uccle eggs. They are no different than standard chicken eggs, IMO.
My last hatch in the old LG (silkies) was near perfect. I had all my silkies & cochins hatch. The only chick I lost was an standard size EE - failed to pip. I had bantams and standards in the 'bator together and treated them all the same. If it weren't for that one EE, I'd have had a 100% hatch.
Oh, yeah, and they were shipped eggs, too.

 

[natalie1136]

There's really no difference in hatching them and standard eggs. I incubate both at the same time. Works great. Good luck on you eggs.

 

[Cherlyn]

Quote:
I sure hope so; I am hatching seramas soon and am nervous!

~Cherlyn

 

[canada-goose]

Don't worry. Seramas aren't much harder to hatch than other chickens!

 

[Cherlyn]

Quote:
Oh, good! Any tricks?

~Cherlyn

 

[canada-goose]

Watch the temperature and humidity VERY CLOSELY (easy if you are nervous)! A good incubator helps.

 

[Cherlyn]

Quote:
Humidity has been at 50% and temp at 99.5. I use the R-Com 20 Pro.

I love it!

~Cherlyn

 

[Akane]

I have a weakness for cute little bantams and have steadily been collecting small bantam breeds. Hatch them pretty much the same as other eggs. The only problem is seramas have a tendency to go early. They don't always go early but just in case you should stop turning them and raise humidity a day or 2 early so day 16 or 17. It could cause problems incubating them with other eggs. Although I have stopped turning japs a day early several times and never noticed a lower hatch rate.

The only thing I do slightly different with small bantam eggs aside from the seramas hatching early is to make sure humidity doesn't go too low. I've found the smaller eggs seem to either lose moisture faster or have less moisture to lose and may end up with extra large air sacs if you use dry incubation methods or very low humidity. It's much more noticeable when you incubate things like button quail eggs which is where I first noticed the difference but small bantam eggs do seem to benefit. That doesn't mean you have to keep your humidity high but just avoid very low humidity and don't let it drop between filling the water tray back up. Some people do that with standards with great success but in my experience the smaller bantams don't benefit from it and may even have lower hatch rates.

 

[SED]

All of the Seramas that I have hatched all hatched on day 19. Other than that, I do not think that there is a big difference in the incubation process. I think that brooding is a little more challenging. It seems that they do not do well with alot of heat fluctuations.