what is the "expected" survival rate?

[Fancie]

when hatching eggs it's about 80% will hatch? well after they hatch about what percent should you expect to survive to full grown.

 

[Teach97]

really depends on numbers...when I do small batches (6 or so) I don't expect any to die...I can give more attention to them...when I hatch 100 quail I figure about 10% don't make it...or so

 

[krcote]

The hatching rates vary but my very first hatch was 80%.

 

[Fancie]

is it differant if you have birds shipped from a hatchery? after they get here, if it's a small enough number all of them should live? Or is it the stress of the shipment that kills them?

 

[farmergal]

I have had great luck with self-hatched eggs. Of the ones that made it out of the shell (granted, I've only hatched 32 so far) none of them have died. And I even helped a few out of the shell, and they're still alive too (although some of them are only a week old still... knock on wood.)

With shipped chicks, it was another story... I had a couple die out of one batch of 30 chicks. Same food, water, treatment -- I think the shipping is just hard on them. So in my experience, self-hatched chicks have a great rate of survival! (Once they make it out of the shell that is!)

ETA: I also had another batch of shipped chicks with 100% survival rate. You just can't control how much they get banged around by the PO, so it really depends.

 

[Akane]

After they hatch it should be rare to lose any. If you do lose more than the odd one you are doing something wrong. The only chicks I've lost were 2 buttons so far and both had problems at the time they hatched. 1 was a really weak pink eyed white that was the last to hatch and never grew. The other got stuck in it's egg and I didn't know it so I didn't find it until I went to throw out all the unhatched eggs 3 days later. It was stuck in the position it had been in the egg, never managed to straighten it's neck and legs, and died within a day. Once they hatch and start eating and drinking they aren't likely to die unless you fail to provide them with the right care such as letting them get chilled or not watching for pasty butt.

Shipped chicks are different. It's not uncommon to lose one in shipping and even if they all arrive alive occasionally one will be too stressed and not survive. Only losing 1 or 2 in a shipped batch is probably still considered good. Sometimes people lose entire shipments. It helps if you order in good weather. Winter is not a good time to get chicks shipped to or from the northern states.

 

[Snakeoil]

I also have had good results on chicks that I hatched, with quail I do have some that hatch and for one reason or another a couple seem to always die. Phesants, about the same results as chickens.

 

[bigredfeather]

Quote:
I think one reason more self-hatched chicks survive is in the incubator. Hatcheries have very accurate bators that will hatch at a very high hatch rate. Many eggs hatch that wouldn't have made it in any of our bators or even under a hen. The "not supposed" to hatch chicks are weak and die. I'm not saying every chick from a hatchery that dies came from a "not supposed" to hatch egg, there are other things that can cause death.

This is just my opinion, I don't have any numbers to back it up.

 

[Fancie]

Yeah, I don't think I will be ordering this early again... the excitment kinda got in the air, last year when I ordered the ones I wanted were sold out till this year, and the moment they opened the breeds up I jumped on it... ran around like a head with the chicken cut off for the last two weeks getting everything ready and worrin about the weather the two days on the way till here that they would get here ok.

I ordered 35 birds, bantams so that probably not the best.

1 died during shipment and another 3 have died since, and 3 more don't look the best. Everyone else looks happy and healthy and active.

I'll chock my losses up to trail and error.. but I'm surprise the hatchieries don't restrict delivery to "danger zones" during winter. But I guess it's equally the consumers fault.

 

[RendonRoo]

I've seen a few post lately from ppl saying thier orders were posponed due to weather. This makes me think that they at least try to take weather in consideration to an extent. Good luck with the rest of your chicks.