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Post by d12chandler on Apr 30, 2014 17:17:43 GMT -5
How's everyone's hatching coming along? I have around 100 hatched, to many stds for sure and could use a few more black orp bantams. I wonder sometimes if hatching real early is a good deal or not. I know it takes a lot more feed and having them inside for a lot longer. Where I live you have got to hatch early if you show in the fall. I guess it's whatever fits your program.
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Post by crystalwhite on Apr 30, 2014 18:13:07 GMT -5
Nice Don, I hatched 200 so far im still hatching try to get a few more buff out from my other pens and i have a pen of whites that i still am hatching from. David
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Post by sgtilton on Apr 30, 2014 18:30:40 GMT -5
Wow you guys are really showing me up! I had 3 buff hens laying eggs for me and so far I've hatched around 15 of those eggs. I probably have around 20 or 30 chocolate bantams though. If I get to 50 total by the time I stop hatching, I'll be lucky! That said, I've more than doubled my flock so I can't be too unhappy.
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Carm
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Hatching
Apr 30, 2014 22:37:27 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Carm on Apr 30, 2014 22:37:27 GMT -5
Due to the cold and late start laying I only have about 25 out now. I have 12 due to hatch tomorrow and another 10-15 to hatch each week after that. I maybe don't breed from as many as I could/should. The 1st 25 are from the 2 older hens that had the best offspring last year. The next batches will include eggs from my best 3 pullets from last year. I started with the top 20, then narrowed it down to 6 (the best 2 from the 3 matings from last year). Then the one pair of pullets were too light coloured and 1 of the other 4 was an egg eater. I also stopped collecting from one of the original 2 as she was light coloured and the mother of the 2 light coloured pullets I decided not to use. The male I used has a good deep colour though, so hope her chicks I have will be ok. She was very big and that is why I used her a bit. I keep thinking I should breed from more birds, but keep good enough records to know that in the past the top offspring were always out of the top mothers and the offspring I didn't like were almost always out of the mothers that just barely made the cut. I don't have a great market for extras, so I try to only hatch what has a better chance of being good.
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Post by iaechickens on May 1, 2014 7:10:11 GMT -5
I hatched about 30 out of my three hens. One went broody shortly after I started. We are done for now though, time to get busy with field work. The cold weather definitely set us back as we were learning. As this is our first time, didn't want to get more then we could manage.
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