- Jun 15, 2015
- 1,709
- 1,767
- 296
The title says it all.
I've raised chickens for like five years now. Polish, Silkies, Cochins, Seramas, the works. With all but Polish I have AT LEAST 90% hatch rates. Better with the Cochins, it's very rare for an egg not to hatch with them.
I have used still air, circulated air, digital, and non digital incubators, with and without automatic egg turners. All with correct temperature and humidty. I have used hens-a bunch of Silkies, a Cochin, and even a Polish.
So why do my Polish have such a terrible hatch rate? If nothing else was hatching good I'd be assuming I was doing something wrong, but everything else is hatching eith unbelievable high rates. All of my Polish come from reputable breeders and great strong healthy lines. Is this normal for Polish, or is there something I missed and they require a different temperature or something? A few do hatch, but compared to the number of eggs I stat with it's ridiculous. My last batch was a dozen Polish, and only three of them hatched. One other piped through a blood vessel and didn't make it, but that happens every once in awhile and I didn't attribute it to him/her being a Polish.
The eggs are not shipped. They come straight out of the coop, sit for a couple of days, and go into the bator or under the hen. They are turned three times a day, tilted while waiting to be set, and stored with the big end up.
So, is it something I'm doing wrong and can fix, or is this just how Polish do? The chicks themselves don't survive as well either, but I've heard a lot of people say the same thing about them. So what's the deal with the eggs?
I've raised chickens for like five years now. Polish, Silkies, Cochins, Seramas, the works. With all but Polish I have AT LEAST 90% hatch rates. Better with the Cochins, it's very rare for an egg not to hatch with them.
I have used still air, circulated air, digital, and non digital incubators, with and without automatic egg turners. All with correct temperature and humidty. I have used hens-a bunch of Silkies, a Cochin, and even a Polish.
So why do my Polish have such a terrible hatch rate? If nothing else was hatching good I'd be assuming I was doing something wrong, but everything else is hatching eith unbelievable high rates. All of my Polish come from reputable breeders and great strong healthy lines. Is this normal for Polish, or is there something I missed and they require a different temperature or something? A few do hatch, but compared to the number of eggs I stat with it's ridiculous. My last batch was a dozen Polish, and only three of them hatched. One other piped through a blood vessel and didn't make it, but that happens every once in awhile and I didn't attribute it to him/her being a Polish.
The eggs are not shipped. They come straight out of the coop, sit for a couple of days, and go into the bator or under the hen. They are turned three times a day, tilted while waiting to be set, and stored with the big end up.
So, is it something I'm doing wrong and can fix, or is this just how Polish do? The chicks themselves don't survive as well either, but I've heard a lot of people say the same thing about them. So what's the deal with the eggs?
