I got 6 chicks out of 12 eggs..

[Kittikity]

These were shipped all the way from Arizona, so this is a excellent hatch.. They started pipping April 1st late in the day and finished up on April 2nd.. These were blue orpington eggs.. Blue genetics are kind of weird and out of 6 chicks, I think I got 4 black, one splash, and one blue.. I'm happy with that ratio as long as they're not all roosters.. lol

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm73/Kittikity/goats/orpchicks.jpg

[plantoneonme]

They are so cute...I hope all hens too! Kim

[Kittikity]

Well, I do need one rooster.. lol

[gardengirl72]

Way to go! They are beautiful. Thanks for sharing the pic.

[MoniDew]

I don't know anything about raising poultry. Is a 50% rate considered good? common? poor?

[Fred's Fine Fowl]

A good hatch from viable eggs would be 75% and up.

You can expect very good hatch rates, even from mail order eggs, if those hatching eggs are of good shell quality, less than 24 hours old at time of ship and handled correctly upon arrival. Breeder stock should have a boosted diet over that of layers.

Hatching eggs received in the mail should never be placed directly into a waiting incubator upon arrival. That's often the immediate desire.

Place the shipped eggs, open/unwrapped and pointed end down, in the same room as the incubator. Allow the eggs to settle for a minimum of 12 hours. Two things happen, one, they all will have the same ambient temperature throughout the egg material and two, they will be correctly oriented before development takes off.

The first five days of incubation are the most critical, so a lot can be done during that time to improve hatch rates.

Eggs which do not hatch should be broken open at the kitchen sink (preferably over the garbage disposal, or a trash bag)... and the contents carefully evaluated.

The condition of the unhatched chicks will be valuable for future hatching adjustments. Were the chicks fully developed and failed to pip?

Was there no development at all (clear egg material)?

Did the chick begin to develop and then die mid incubation cycle with blood ring near the embryo?

It's all important and this is also why candling during the incubation process is critical so adjustments may be made. I even candle eggs which are being hatched by brood hens (">

You may read my hatching guide if you are interested...
http://www.fredsfinefowl.com/hatchingeggs.html

I hatch every week during this time of year, so have lots of opportunity to fine tune my incubation process. Also, a great deal depends on parent stock and their vitality at the time fertile eggs were produced.

Responsible breeding is at the top of the list. Egg shape even comes into play, where proper chick pipping position is concerned.

Thanks for sharing....

Fred

www.FredsFineFowl.com

[Kittikity]

From my experience with shipped eggs, 50% is very good.. The postal service and temperature fluctuations in shipping can be very hard on eggs.. These did come all the way across the country.. I've had much better hatches with eggs that were local and I picked them up.. I'm also using a home made incubator where I have to turn the eggs by hand.. So I'm sure that figures into it also..

[ecogirl]

They look so cute!