NOT HATCHING

[Southern by choice]

I also wonder about the GMO issue. It's so depressing and most people don't know anything about it so they look at you funny and roll their eyes. Oh well...
I've been looking at other options too but I feed roughly 30 lbs a day now, up from 25 lbs, and all my birds are free-range.

I have not had any of these issues, as a matter of fact the birds have flippin' nest everywhere and I mean everywhere! Just about every week I have a new clutch coming out of the woods. Had over 60 modern games bantams last month. We don't do any planned breeding in the summer fall so the roos are everywhere. January the roos will be segregated to another building and fenced area to prepare for breeding/hatching season. We are always looking for nests but the chickens are sneaky!!!!

I don't know about the incubator issues though, we only use it when necessary and we generally have 90% hatch. The only time we had a bad hatch was with eggs that came from penned birds. There has been a good deal of research on free range birds and higher fertility rates. Just wondering if your birds are caged, penned, or pastured. I find the chicks are always more robust when hatched and raised by momma. Their growth far exceeds artificial raising. At least here anyway, not sure of others experiences. I also like two different thermometers/hygrometers in the incubator because I noticed the auto settings were not as good as when the incubator was brand new. We only have a small incubator. It's a GQF Genesis hovabator 1588 I will be purchasing a cabinet style after the new year but I'm not sure which one to get, I'm thinking of a Brinsea.

Just wondering if some of this is by region.

 

[bonbean01]

Ahhhh...was talking to hubby about how this year we seem to have some "evil" hens, but the RIR are new to us, so thought it might be that breed. Then told him about this thread and we wondered if our layer pellets have had a recipe change? NEVER thought of the fact that GMO corn and soy would probably be in the feed now. That could be the reason for sure!!!!

I'm in Northeast Mississippi and we get freezes at night and a few days of freezing as well, but no many. Today we set up a brooding place in the shed where we can use heat lamps, but no baby chicks go out of my garage until fully feathered and have an easily temp controlled brooding pen where I can fuss over them

I just started collecting eggs today from the hens I want chicks from and will collect for up to 3 days (only 3 hens in with a rooster right now...rest are without a rooster) and then get the incubtor going and probably set them in there Wednesday...never let collected eggs go for more than 4 days before incubating.

I totally hate that GMO corn and soy are in the food chain...and some say we've been eating it from grocery stores for several years...and of course if it is being sold for humans, it figures it would be in livestock feeds

 

[TGreenhut]

These year I have been getting tons of roosters. Out of 7 silkies, 5 were roosters. Out of 10 laying mix breeds, all 10 were roosters!! Gahhh, I don't know what's up this year! I'm ending up with so many roosters that I'm not even making any money this year. I don't want so many roosters so I try selling them, no one else seems to want to buy them so I end up giving them away for free. :/

 

[CochinBrahmaLover=)]

These year I have been getting tons of roosters. Out of 7 silkies, 5 were roosters. Out of 10 laying mix breeds, all 10 were roosters!! Gahhh, I don't know what's up this year! I'm ending up with so many roosters that I'm not even making any money this year. I don't want so many roosters so I try selling them, no one else seems to want to buy them so I end up giving them away for free. :/

Butcher 'em, and sell fresh whole chicken, YUM.

I know that hens who hatch out eggs, as a thumb of rule, hatch out more hens. Anyone hatch out any chicks out of a hen? I have, but s/he isn't grown yet, and has barely feathers (18 days) so I think its a roo, but unsure yet still.

 

[ragdollcatlady]

we seem to have some "evil" hens, but the RIR are new to us

I had a few RIR one year and disliked their high strung personalities so I ate them. I have a very strong preference for mellow breeds so I love my Cochins, Faverolles, D Anvers and Silkies. I have some Marans and Americanas that are naturally flightier and a little higher energy but not mean. Some breeds are just programmed to be a little different.

If you end up with too many roosters you can also offer 1/2 free if someone will come to you and butcher your half for you....If I can't sell my extra boys I butcher them myself. I nearly cry when I have to butcher pure bred, nicely typed, gorgeous roosters just because no one around here wants them. I would gladly pay $10 for any of the beautiful boys I offer for sale way before I kept a hatchery/feed store rooster even for a mixed flock. But C'est La Vie!

 

[TGreenhut]

These year I have been getting tons of roosters. Out of 7 silkies, 5 were roosters. Out of 10 laying mix breeds, all 10 were roosters!! Gahhh, I don't know what's up this year! I'm ending up with so many roosters that I'm not even making any money this year. I don't want so many roosters so I try selling them, no one else seems to want to buy them so I end up giving them away for free. :/

Butcher 'em, and sell fresh whole chicken, YUM.

I know that hens who hatch out eggs, as a thumb of rule, hatch out more hens. Anyone hatch out any chicks out of a hen? I have, but s/he isn't grown yet, and has barely feathers (18 days) so I think its a roo, but unsure yet still.

The 10 laying mix breeds that turned out to be roosters were all hatched by a mother hen.....

 

[CochinBrahmaLover=)]

These year I have been getting tons of roosters. Out of 7 silkies, 5 were roosters. Out of 10 laying mix breeds, all 10 were roosters!! Gahhh, I don't know what's up this year! I'm ending up with so many roosters that I'm not even making any money this year. I don't want so many roosters so I try selling them, no one else seems to want to buy them so I end up giving them away for free. :/

Butcher 'em, and sell fresh whole chicken, YUM.

I know that hens who hatch out eggs, as a thumb of rule, hatch out more hens. Anyone hatch out any chicks out of a hen? I have, but s/he isn't grown yet, and has barely feathers (18 days) so I think its a roo, but unsure yet still.

The 10 laying mix breeds that turned out to be roosters were all hatched by a mother hen.....

Wow. Cull her, shes a bad mom,, LOL. Wow, thats a lot of roosters esp. for a hen hatch,

 

[bonbean01]

When I was incubating and hatching out quail and bantam eggs (and did hundreds of both...yeah...I'm addicted and each and every hatch is a miracle to me...sap that I am) was pretty close to a 50/50 for hens and roosters.

The girls with the rooster today did not all lay...they probably heard I was wanting to incubate eggs and are being ornery...LOLOL...however many I get by Wednesday will go into the incubator and I'll see what happens.

The RIR rooster and hens are pretty calm with the humans and when a hen is getting picked on, I notice that the rooster does not participate...just the hens...someone just gave us two young roosters...a RIR and a game rooster crossed with something else? Wondering what I'd get crossing the game cross with them? Would love to get more Golden Comets...just not sure what is best breed to cross with the RIR hens to get that?

 

[bonbean01]

p.s.... just wondering...why would incubating vs hen hatching make a difference in the sex of the chicks? Am I missing something?

 

[Southern by choice]

Brooded by mom or incubator we generally get 50/50. BUT it seems when the chicks are running around all "willy nilly" it is always and I mean always the females that get stepped on (usually "D") or eaten. When the possums and coons come... always the girls!
D used to play with marbles and "catch" them under his paws and the marble would "disappear" in his big pads... so he likes to do this "play with the baby chicks" the same way! UGH He never eats them.
All of my "oops" cockerals are going to be butchered, once slaughtered I plan on practicing how to caponize so that no bird will ever go to waste.
I wonder if the age of the chickens(males) are determining the ratio of M/F. All of my roos are under 2 years. I log everything so this will be interesting to collect the data and see what happens. I know..there are too many variables, but it is always fun to collect data!