We managed to set our first hatch of the fall 2017/spring 2018 season on August 21st. Normally we put the trays of hatching eggs in the incubator at 8 AM. One of the 1602 GQF incubators decided to have a heating element go out, so we had to get the 1502 GQF heated up which caused a six hour delay. They both are full and running well now.
We are performing an experiment with this hatch. Normally we collect/save hatching eggs for a two week period then set all that were saved. We started collecting/saving hatching eggs on June 30th for some of the varieties. This made the oldest eggs 52 days old. We have had four week old eggs hatch well in the past, but this will be a first time experience for us to set 7 ½ week old eggs. All the eggs are stored in an old freezer which had its thermostat replaced with a window AC thermostat so the unit can be set at 62º-64ºF which is the most optimal temperature to store hatching eggs. Each egg is marked with its pen number and date laid, so we can know how well the older eggs hatch. I’ve been told about 45 day old eggs which were stored in a refrigerator @ 40ºF hatched well-so thought we would give this experiment a try.
We set 185 self blues, 20 self blue splits, 118 blue wheatens/wheatens/splash wheatens, 71 blues, 63 blacks, 18 splash, 71 whites and 30 buffs for a total of 576. This could be our largest hatch until February or March, because many of our older breeders are starting their annual molt. When a cock is in molt he is temporarily sterile. Once he has completed his molt he is highly fertile and ready to make chicks. A hen quits laying during her molt. It is best when the whole pen molts at the same time. Presently we have 15 orders and request for chicks but can supply many more. We plan to have a hatch Oct. 16, and Nov. 27, then one every other week starting Jan. 8, through June 4, 2018. We should still be able to supply some from our Sept. 11 hatch and all the following hatches.
E-mail psmith@ntin.net for order info.
Thanks for your interest in our breeding show flock of Ameraucanas.
Paul & Angela Smith