[Frieslandfilly]

Just thought I would ask about any fetility problems in poultry at the moment. We have a usually very reliable B/O cockerel but the fertillity rate is down by about 80%! Also out of 24 duck eggs in the incubator only 8 are fertile. I spoke with a friend who is in the local poultry club and they reckon that fertility is a problem with birds this year, any thoughts or experiences??

[meebh]

we haven't had any fertility problems really but we did a hatch and the results were very poor.

We had lots of eggs pipping but not hatching, we also had some that hatched very slowly then died and we had some that were candled on day 18 and moving around normally but did nothing.  From 42 eggs we got 5 chicks 

Admittedly some were removed from the incy before hand due to sparking then failing to develop any further. 

We think we may have had a humidity or temp prob as last hatch was fabulous ...... or could it be the cockerel was too young 

 

[cooper956]

our first 3 hatchs  produced 3 chicks that lived out of 70 eggs last year we where getting  20 out of 24 most times whe hatched anything under broodys we are geting about hafl the eggs hatching

[TheCaptain]

just had seven from seven on two hatches - best fertility rates we've expereinced with incubating.

[Floyd]

Hve you checked the tepm of the incubator seems strange for such a change

[Sylvia]

I've had very good hatching rates with chickens. Have some ducks just pipping so hopefully will hatch today.

[northfifeduckling]

have to wait for Cameron's verdict on the duck eggs. None of the hens has gone broody yet, which I find a bit odd 

[piggy]

My first broody hatched 10 from 12 8 weeks ago,second broody has only had 2 from 12,have left them with her extra couple of days but nothing,will report back tomorrow when i open them to see what problem was.

Karen

[princesspiggy]

wev had 40% and 60% from posted eggs, 75% at home on young birds. no luck with ducks yet. any idea how to candle a turkey egg?

[piggy]

Cracked open the 10 unhatched eggs and all were not fertile.

[AengusOg]

I've got eight broody hens on eggs at the moment. Some are due next week and the rest in the following 10 days.

One is a Sumatra, and one is a light Sussex, and the others are all game hens. Actually, three of the game hens started brooding in inconvenient places, and could have been hampered by other hens trying to lay in their nests, so I shifted them after eight days on their eggs. I took them from their pens and put them in a purpose-made row of broody boxes, at night, and shut the doors on them. I left them for twelve hours like that before opening the doors today to let them out, one at a time.

Two of them found their way back to their new positions and went back on their eggs by choice, and the other had to be caught and returned. They have all settled in their new places.

The LS is on 16 cream legbar eggs and one bantam welsummer. She comes off and goes on without any help from me. The Sumatra is on an unknown number of her own, and the game hens are on various numbers of their own eggs too. In all, I should have about 100 chicks if all goes well. I'll give details as I get them.

[AengusOg]

Well, my first broody has hatched her eggs. She is a game hen and had been in a pen of three hens and a cock, where she started brooding. All the hens had been laying in the same place, so I had to be careful that she didn't start to brood on all the eggs. As soon as she went broody, I removed her to a private nest of her own and set 15 eggs under her. She was allowed to come and go of her own accord, and was happy to settle in her new abode...she is an experienced hen.

Yesterday she had been hatching for 24 hours, so I had a peep to see what was there. She had hatched twelve out of fifteen eggs, with one dead in the hatching, and two addled. I moved her and the chicks to a clean pen, on shavings, last night, and the chicks are on the go this morning, eating and drinking, and the hen is keen as mustard on them.

[joyofchicks]

Aw, Aengus - I just love when people post pictures.

[AengusOg]

The second of my hens has just hatched her chicks over the last 24 hours. Again a game hen, she has brought off 13 out of 15 eggs. Pics to follow.

[northfifeduckling]

According to Cameron, all our 6 duck eggs are supposed to hatch on Wednesday...