Let's Make Chickens!

Spring is on its way. Spring makes me think of Easter, and Easter makes me think of eggs.  And, well, eggs make me think it's time to hatch chickens.  Honestly, I admit, I'm really only thinking of hatching chicks because number one, I get a really big kick out of it! And number two, our flock is getting low.  Many chickens were invited to dinner over the winter months, and it's time to start succession planning.   In fact, I took inventory over the weekend and the count stands at five roosters and twenty-two hens (and two Pekin ducks).  Too many roosters for sure, but I haven't yet decided who's on the guest list for dinner.

So I pulled out my incubator, sanitized it, and loaded with twenty-one fresh eggs.

All of these eggs should be fertile. Four of my roosters are mating age.  They consist of a Turken (or "Naked Neck" if you prefer), a Black Copper Marans, and two others, which are a Black Copper Marans and Buff Brahma Bantam cross. The fifth little guy is also a Turken, but too young to mate.

The hatchlings from this new batch will be from any of the above fathers; and either a Turken, Buff Brahma Bantam, or Black Australorp mother. What a neat mix! I love suprises. And if we count twenty-one days from the date of incubation (February 10th), this should put us at a hatch date of about March 3rd.

A few tips I have read to ensure a successful hatch...

• Ideal pre-incubation storage temperature of 55 degrees and 75% relative humidity (I failed here, I like to keep my house a bit warmer than that.)
• Eggs should be turned daily and placed in the incubator within 4-7 days (did that)
• Store eggs with the pointed end down (yep - got it)
• A two week storage reduces the hatchability rate to 50% (these were only stored for 3 days)
• At three weeks, the chance of hatchability is nearly at zero (no chance any egg would last that long in my house)
• Run your incubator for 24 hours prior to placing the eggs in it to assure correct temperature is maintained. (did that)
• Warm your eggs at room temperature before placing them in the incubator to avoid condensation on the egg shell, which could lead to bacteria and disease (no problem there)
• Use only clean eggs. Do not wash and use eggs that were dirty. If you remove the bloom (the invisible barrier on the outside of the shell) you increase the chance of the egg not hatching, or hatching out a sick or deformed chick. (no dirty eggs here!)



I wonder how many will hatch?