- May 5, 2013
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Just joined BYC but have been following threads for months. I am a pre-school teacher in StL, MO and hatch chickens or ducks nearly every year with my class. In the interest of teaching responsibly, I have NEVER purchased hatching eggs without first lining up a future home for the babies and (usually) two or three back ups just in case. I keep the babies at school for three to four weeks so the children can watch them grow and develop (parents are always so excited by this as most of them did this project as children only to see the babies disappear on the second or third day.) The children (and often the parents, my boss and my co-teachers) tend to develop relationships with them and the amount of learning that goes on in my classroom during these weeks is unsurpassed (typically one to two weeks of planning with the children, three to four weeks of incubation and three to four weeks after hatch). As a teacher it is my FAVORITE project throughout the year.
This year, I have decided to keep two of the chicks and two of the ducks and begin my own backyard flock. As a child I had two pet hens that I hatched myself and they were wonderful pets with the bonus of having fresh eggs.
We attempted to hatch Black Copper Marans, White Ameraucanas and Speckled Sussex this year with limited success (1/6 BCM hatched and 4/10 SS hatched): I hatched them in the same incubator with the duck eggs and we had three/three of our Pekins and two/three of our Rouens hatch. I've never tried to hatch ducks AND chickens together and after weeks of independent research EVERYWHERE with no real results, I decided we would just try it and see what would happen. I have to wonder if the higher humidity required for the ducks affected the poor hatch rate of the chicks as in the past I've had (with a few exceptions) anywhere from 80-100% hatch rate. (By the way, the supplier of the White Ameraucanas encountered some difficulties so I didn't get those eggs until three days before the others hatched -- now they're incubating at my home so I'll know their success in 21 days.)
OK, so after that long introduction, here's my question:
I've done a ton of research on all of the breeds. I am definitely planning to keep one of the WA (the eggs that took so long to get here were well worth the wait -- a beautiful, light bluish-green and much prettier than many that I've seen (one of my friends suggested that this was probably because these are purebreds and most of the ones from the past have simply been Easter Eggers; this makes sense to me but who knows?)
However, I am torn between whether to keep one of the SS or the BCM as my second (I am DEFINITELY keeping the two Rouen Ducks and St. Louis County will only allow up to four poultry without jumping through hoops and paying large "licensing fees"). The SS chicks are so pretty; their eggs, however, were quite small and everything I've read indicates that SS eggs should be medium-extra large -- I thought maybe these came from young hens and the eggs get bigger as the hens mature. The SS chicks look exactly like all of the purebred pics I've seen and I got them from a reputable breeder so it seems unlikely that they are mixed. The BCM chick is adorable also and she (so says the sexer at the local hatchery) came out of eggs that were a very deep chocolate and as big as the duck eggs. Even as I'm explaining this I waffle back and forth. Please BYCers, WHO SHOULD I KEEP???????
ANY advice or input would be GREATLY appreciated!
This year, I have decided to keep two of the chicks and two of the ducks and begin my own backyard flock. As a child I had two pet hens that I hatched myself and they were wonderful pets with the bonus of having fresh eggs.
We attempted to hatch Black Copper Marans, White Ameraucanas and Speckled Sussex this year with limited success (1/6 BCM hatched and 4/10 SS hatched): I hatched them in the same incubator with the duck eggs and we had three/three of our Pekins and two/three of our Rouens hatch. I've never tried to hatch ducks AND chickens together and after weeks of independent research EVERYWHERE with no real results, I decided we would just try it and see what would happen. I have to wonder if the higher humidity required for the ducks affected the poor hatch rate of the chicks as in the past I've had (with a few exceptions) anywhere from 80-100% hatch rate. (By the way, the supplier of the White Ameraucanas encountered some difficulties so I didn't get those eggs until three days before the others hatched -- now they're incubating at my home so I'll know their success in 21 days.)
OK, so after that long introduction, here's my question:
I've done a ton of research on all of the breeds. I am definitely planning to keep one of the WA (the eggs that took so long to get here were well worth the wait -- a beautiful, light bluish-green and much prettier than many that I've seen (one of my friends suggested that this was probably because these are purebreds and most of the ones from the past have simply been Easter Eggers; this makes sense to me but who knows?)
However, I am torn between whether to keep one of the SS or the BCM as my second (I am DEFINITELY keeping the two Rouen Ducks and St. Louis County will only allow up to four poultry without jumping through hoops and paying large "licensing fees"). The SS chicks are so pretty; their eggs, however, were quite small and everything I've read indicates that SS eggs should be medium-extra large -- I thought maybe these came from young hens and the eggs get bigger as the hens mature. The SS chicks look exactly like all of the purebred pics I've seen and I got them from a reputable breeder so it seems unlikely that they are mixed. The BCM chick is adorable also and she (so says the sexer at the local hatchery) came out of eggs that were a very deep chocolate and as big as the duck eggs. Even as I'm explaining this I waffle back and forth. Please BYCers, WHO SHOULD I KEEP???????
ANY advice or input would be GREATLY appreciated!
