The Official Forum of the Ameraucana Breeders Club > Housing, Health & Hatching

Over 2 decades of experience

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Paul:
Hi Don, 

  We figure a 50% for quality chicks.  A 25 chick order get allotted 50 eggs.  The early hatches usually don't hatch very well.  The later ones do.  The closer to equinox-March 21-the better the hatches become.  They usually are hatching very well about the time we have to quit hatching due to the hot weather.  Our last hatch will be June 8, 2015.  I'm always concerned when carrying them into the PO-that they will say, "no it's too warm to ship them," but that hasn't happened yet.  I plan on addressing the fertility in the next post.

  I count it very fortunate that we get to keep some of the chicks for ourselves when we have more than enough to fill our chick orders.

  We use to raise (feed out) 500 to 750 a year a long time ago.  They were marketed at flea markets an auction in Mesquite, TX. about 90 miles from us.  The Texas Animal Health Commission shut all of that down several years ago, so we don't raise that many now.  We sent out 1,097 chicks in 2014 and only kept about 200.

  We kept most of our first hatch this year due to lots of snow across the US on Feb. 17, 2015.  They couldn't be shipped safely!  There are a few left over from our 2nd and 3rd hatch that are here also.  There is a big demand for the young breeder birds in the fall.  We usually are sold out by the time Shawnee, Oklahoma show (Dec. 12, 2015) comes around.  We sort the birds into two categories -layers (not recommended for showing or breeding for show stock) and show quality breeders.  The layer quality cockerels and cull pullets have a one-time date with me, the butcher.  They are excellent eating without any preservatives, growth hormones or any other junk added into them!  Ameraucanas are a dual purpose chicken-both eggs and meat!

  The extra eggs are culled.  They are eaten by either us, someone from our church, or someone who purchases them.  Last year we sold them to one of the vendors at the local farmer's market.  Two years ago we sold them to the owner of a nearby business who resold them.

Birdcrazy:

--- Quote from: Sharon Yorks on April 25, 2015, 09:59:03 AM ---Unfortunately, it was the only one that did hatch and the chick had to be raised alone...although she did make friends with a moose and a dog.

--- End quote ---


Sharon, Moose in Ohio? You really had me going! Then you solved my doubts, pictures are really worth a thousand words!

Sarah Meaders:
Love this post! Keep them coming!

Paul:
  Now that the hatching eggs have been disinfected, placed in the egg racks inside the trays and set out on the island top for the remainder of the night, they are ready to be placed inside the incubator which has been running all night and preset to maintain 99.5ºF.

  About 20 years ago when setting our first GQF cabinet, we had five thermometers with five different readings, which ranged from too low to way too high!  So I called the GQF manufacturing Co. to ask, “How do you know which thermometer is correct?”  I was told “When the incubator is hatching on time (chickens 21 days) that it could be used to calibrate the thermometers.”  The temp inside the correctly running incubator will be 99.5ºF.  Keep adjusting the thermostat until you finally have the chicks hatching at 21 days.  The thermometers need to be marked at whenever reading that they are at, when they are inside a properly adjusted incubator.  This has worked very well until this hatching season.  We had a trusted calibrated (marked at 96ºF) that we have used the past several years to set our incubators to the correct temp.  Earlier this season the thermometer was correct.  However it changed (went bad) and caused us to loose two hatches!  It was used to set our newly purchased 2008 never been used #1502 GQF incubator.  The first hatch was a total failure without a single chick hatching.  They were all dead inside the eggs.  Development was from just started to ready to hatch.  The more developed ones were incubated in the two styrofoam incubators and moved on day 18 to the #1502 GQF for hatching.

  I was told about GQF manufacturing Co. using two different speed fans in 2008-so we changed the fan. 

  The next hatch was the same, but I discovered the problem just before it was time for the eggs to hatch.  I had taken the trusted calibrated thermometer out to recheck one of the other incubators that was running.  The temp reading was very low on the thermometer!  So I put another thermometer that reads a little on the high side-inside the #1502.  The temp was still increasing at over 104ºF.  I immediately went to adjusting the temp down.  Recalibrated the thermometer in one of the GQF incubators that was running correctly.  It was 4ºF less than the previous mark which was reading 96ºF, which actually was 99.5ºF. 

  Successful hatches must have the temp correct!  If it is ½ºF too hot the chicks will hatch a day early.  If they are ½ºF too cool they will be a day late.

  I use to tell my Sunday School class “If we can learn from the mistakes of someone else, then we won’t have to pay the consequences that they had to pay in order to learn.”  Learn from my mistake-thermometers can change (go bad) on their own in a very short period of time!

  We use 3 tablespoons of bleach in one gallon of water to keep the water pans full inside the incubators.  This helps keep the air clean inside the incubators.  This tip was given to me several years ago.  I think Roy Snyder told me, but it originally came from Bo Garrett a Cochin Breeder in Oklahoma.

  Eighteen days of checking to make sure that the egg turner is working, the temp is holding at 99.5ºF and that the water pan never gets too low, now it is time to increase the humidity by placing another water pan inside the incubator or wick pads in the 1502.  It’s also time to turn the turner off and take the eggs our of the egg racks.  They are partitioned by breeding pens in the trays with lids on them.  Since we have 49 breeding pens this year, we hatch one wheaten, one lavender and one black “only” altogether in one partition.  This uses less dividers inside the trays.  Occasionally a chick will get it’s head hung over one of the dividers or under a lid and gets killed.  We do not hatch blue and lavender together as they look to similar to be accurately separated.  Also the splash and wheatens are very similar but the wheatens will have lighter colored shanks than the splash.  A blue X black is never shared with the compartment of a black X black as the blue X black will also produce black chicks, disabling the separation of the pen’s progeny.  The eggs from the two Styrofoam incubators are removed and placed inside the #1502 GQF incubator for hatching.  We have extra trays for the GQF incubators.  We stack one extra tray on the top tray and one extra tray is in the bottom.  Always be careful removing the trays from the incubator as chicks can have their toes cut off if the tray isn’t lifted before pulling it out.

  The metal cookie sheet is wrapped with a plastic wrap.  This makes clean up much easier.  It’s easier to skin the plastic off than to scrub the feces off.  This tip came from Barbara Campbell many years ago.

  Now it’s time to take a breather and patiently wait for the chicks to start hatching.  During the wait time, shipping labels and health papers get filled out.
The wheatens usually hatch several hours ahead of the others.

  Egg shells are removed from the compartments several times during the hatch.  Occasionally a shell will cap itself over the top of another egg that hasn’t started hatching.  This suffocates the chick inside the covered egg.  This tip came from local fancier Buddy May, many years ago before we had Ameraucanas.

  Each of the chicks get toe punched the number which was assigned to the breeding pen which produced them.  The code is 1, 2, 4 and 8.  It starts with the bird’s left outside web being 1.  It moves to the right (just like we read left to right).  The numbers double each move.  It ends with the bird’s right outside web being 8.  One to fifteen can be made using these four numbers.  Example, a # 7 is a one, two and four.

  The (+) plus system uses the same code, but the holes are opened with a razorblade to make a slit in the chick’s web in place of a hole.  This (+) system allows an additional fifteen breeding pens of the same variety group.  We came up with this several years ago when we first had more than fifteen breeding pens of black, blue and splash.

  Once all the chicks are toe punched and inventoried, the list is checked to see how many orders can be filled.  The chicks are divided up on paper to provide as many different breeding pen’s progeny as possible to each customer to help prevent or at least prolong inbreeding the chickens.

  Angela has all the shipping boxes assembled with toe pads installed ready for filling.  Our early hatches get the ventilation holes taped before assembling the box.  The holes are taped with clear shipping tape from the inside so the chicks will not get their down stuck.  This tip came from Jeanne Trent about 16 years ago.  The later hatches are left open.  When the temp gets in the high 80’s-we quit taping the ventilation holes.

  The chicks are placed into the boxes.  The lids are tied on with a nylon fishing line.  They are also taped closed on the ends.  A few years ago we had a person call and ask about a baby duck that was in their box of chicks that we had sent!  Hasn’t been a problem since taping the ends.  A PO employee apparently played with the chicks then put them back into the wrong box!

  A Texas Pullorum-Typhoid paper is filled out for each box of chicks.  Texas has it’s own program which is an equivalent to the NPIP program.  It is placed inside an envelope that has “Health Papers” written on it.  Then the envelope is taped to the side of the chick box.

  After all the boxes are filled, tied, and taped, they are ready for a fast trip to the PO to catch the first truck!  Then it’s off to work for a few hours.  Later that evening each person who is being sent a box of chicks is e-mailed a tracking number and anticipated day and time of arrival for express mailed chicks, or a tracking number for priority mailed chicks.  We guarantee live chicks upon arrival or a refund for any which don’t make the trip, which is very few.  Therefore we require express mail for shipping zones #5 or more.  We allow priority mail through shipping zone #4.  We are very fortunate to have the DFW Airport only 65 miles away, which makes connections just about everywhere possible!  The baby chick takes in the yoke just before hatching.  This allows the newly hatched chick several days survival without any water or feed.  Another “Master” design in nature-so when momma hen hatches a brood and it’s a while before she manages to find them something to eat or drink, that they can still survive.

  It’s some relief when the chicks are left at our PO.  It’s total relief when the report comes back that all the chicks made the trip and that whoever received them indicates that they are nice chicks.

  The next day after the chicks are sent out, whatever chicks are left over and any that hatch late are vaccinated for Mareks Disease and carried to the brooder house.  The late hatched chicks are also toe punched their pen number.  We let everyone vaccinate their own chicks.  We use to offer the Mareks vaccinations, but now due to time we no longer vaccinate shipped chicks.  It’s a real rush to get several hundred toe punched, sorted into the correct boxes and delivered to our PO by 3:00 PM which only allows 30 minutes to get them checked in.  If there is a line to the back door-we are in trouble with the paperwork’s time!  I usually start between 4 and 5 AM on hatch days!  It takes many hours to toe punch and sort an incubator of chicks!

  I want everyone who reads these writings that this is how we do it.  There are many ways to accomplish the same task.  Many years ago, I use to build farm fences.  I came up with the idea “That there is a right way, a wrong way and the way, that the person who hired me, wants it done!”

  I know that there are fanciers who may disagree with how we do our hatching eggs.  Just for the record, what we do can work-we had seven pen’s eggs hatch 100% in our eleventh hatch and two more pen’s eggs hatch 100% under a lavender hen.  It’s been four years since setting the last hen.

  Plan on taking up with the chicks ready for the brooder in the next writing.

  Please share your experience with hatching with us!

Max:
Thanks Paul & Angela, That was a great read!

Your mentorship has served me very well. I have hatched more chicks than I know what to do with. My brooders are overflowing.

Something that you might consider in the future is printing your shipping labels at home. It's faster and cheaper than doing it at the post office. To save the expense of sticky back shipping labels, I print them on regular printer paper and use a glue stick to glue them to the box. When I deliver them to the post office, I am in and out in just a few minutes.  ;)

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