What's wrong with their feathers?

[HorseFeatherz NV]

 

[chickenherder]

Now that is eggciting news!

Way to go Julie!

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[Happy Chooks]

That's so exciting!!!!!

 

[averytds]

Atta boy Ozzie!

 

[kathyinmo]

Great news!

 

[BeardedLadyFarm]

I need some advice from those who have either hatched these chicks, or who have been following this process.

I had some of these eggs back in March, and despite great fertility and development, none were able to hatch. I had other varieties in the incubator at the same time, that hatched with good percentages.

Julie KINDLY sent me some more eggs last week to try again. And I got a BROODY on essentially the same day. The eggs are currently in the incubator while I make sure the broody is going to stick with it, and then she will get the eggs.

My question is, should I leave them under her during the hatch, or should I bring them back to the incubator at day 18, so I can observe if and when they need some help out of the shell? Obviously the broody won't help them if they're having trouble.

I have some less important eggs in the incubator on the same schedule that I can swap under the broody at hatch time, so she'll get to be a mommy. Or should I just give her the eggs, and let nature take its course?

Thanks for your input. I'd really like to get a couple of these running around the place!

 

[alicefelldown]

I'd leave them with the broody but keep an eye on her. If she isn't going to help, you can always step in and take them from her. From what I've read from the others, broodies have a better shot at hatching these eggs.

Best of luck!!!

 

[kathyinmo]

Nearly all of these chicks have needed help to hatch. I would not take the risk of leaving them with the broody. I would transfer them to the incubator/hatcher on day 20. PM Germaine and ask her how she did it with her broody. If I recall correctly, this is what she did.

Good luck!

 

[Redcatcher]

I only found this thread recently and I apologize for being lazy and not reading through all 80 pages. I got about halfway and still had no definitive answer one way or another, so I figured I would go ahead and ask. Are any of these eggs available for sale, and who would I contact? While there is no way to put a value on them, I am retired and can go the extra mile to assist with the hatching and anything else that might be needed . I have been incubating eggs for 50 years and I have been getting nearly 100% hatches from my own eggs. All of my birds are secured in pens and tended to throughout and day. They are more of way of life with me than just a hobby.

 

[BeardedLadyFarm]

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By all means, contact Julie, Jubaby to see how long her list is. Since the the gene pool is very concentrated, they aren't the most vigorous, and are very hard to hatch. It seems that everyone who has them thus far is planning to out-cross them to Blue Black Splash Ameraucanas to get some genetic diversity, which should help add some vigor. By this fall, it seems several people should have eggs that will produce birds split for this gene, which can either be bred together, or back to one of the parents to make more strange feathered birds.

Julie is very kind. Just send her a message, and I'm sure she'll be able to tell you if and when she might have eggs.