AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

Thats sad I hope next time it works out with a happy ending

I tried on two occasions and was unsuccessful, I don't think I would attempt again, as previously mentioned here I think I would just leave it to Mother Nature.

I'm with you hens and hobbits what will be will be and the strong will survive

I think that there are definitely genetic reasons why these chicks don't hatch and I don't like to interfere with Mother Nature, I do indeed believe that it is survival of the fittest.

They say most of the time its the bad diet of the parents not sure if thats fact or not

Yes it is if the chicks are weak

Welcome to the forum EggSquare I see this is your 2nd post
And you poor thing – you have gotten me answering!
(my bark is much worse than my bite OK) do not take my answer personally as it is not an attack on you (or anyone for that matter) I am just stating what many know to be fact =

The poor diet thing is an excuse (< my opinon but one that many others share) to cover a genetic blending that is not good
it is known (and has been documented) that birds that are malnourished still produce strong chicks = I have proof of this in my back yard = some birds I got a few years ago that were near on to starved by previous owner (more on that later in this thread to show the point)
we (humans) have over technicalised the whole chook 'thing' when it comes to feed
we need to 'keep it simple'

This IS on subject folks it is NOT a genetic discussion but I am certain it will start a storm in a teacup as each person believes a different thing =

Every mating has multiple possibilities for genetic combinations = fact

Example = (and remembering that my birds are fed a good balanced diet)

Abt 7 years ago =
I mated 2 birds together (that HAD been fed well from hatching I bred them here)
they had been mated to other birds in previous years with good success to the point one of the offspring won Grand Champion at National Level

I wanted to try these 2 together =
One, note, ONE was a good chick healthy and strong and well formed – the rest were to state it to the point = retarded and deformed
The deformities were horrendous. I consulted with knowledgeable and learned colleagues including Lance Hicks (of genetics fame, now deceased)
All confirmed that those 2 birds were a bad blending that their genetics were ‘incompatible’ some went on to state (clearly) that many in fact most chicks that fail to hatch on their own would also be the result of a bad genetic blending

I made a point of asking abt diet as I had heard a few say they believed that diet was the problem (in my mind implying that the owners were not feeding their birds correctly = and I agree some out there DO NOT feed their birds correctly) but they responded by going back to the genetic blending.


Many share this sentiment

Wise observation PP

Thankyou for taking the time to write such a detailed answer I have still much to learn. I was reading on an avian web site that vitamins are important for hatching strong chicks and that comes from the parents maybe that applies to parrots or other birds

A good diet is very important but as soozorps wrote its not generally the reason chicks have trouble hatching especially if you use an incubator





LooLoo

Firstly, and my apologies for the omission = I forgot to mention another cause for failing to hatch = PULLET EGGS = many (and no apologies given for my next statement as I have posted this sentiment elsewhere on this forum) – many are so ‘desperate’ to get chicks once they get their new birds that they use pullet eggs
Pullet eggs are thicker than hen eggs
Pullet = up to the first moult usually around 13months old
Hen = after the first moult
Back to pullet eggs – as they are thicker it stands to reason (scientifically speaking) that the weaker chick/s will have trouble breaking the thicker shell
Hen eggs = the older a hen gets the thinner the shell gets = making it easier for the chick to hatch

A simile = if ‘we’ made a shell (pullet type) and the ratio of thickness was correct for our human size then we were crammed into that shell and told just using our nose/head we had to break out
Then ‘we’ made a shell (hen – meaning thinner by 1/3) crammed ourselves into that shell and using just our nose/head again –
I do believe we would find the hen shell easier to get out of = as do the chicks
And yes I know we humans don’t have an egg tooth! This is a simile.


SquareEgg what you have read regards vitamins etc applies to all that is avian

For the sake of conversation - a weak chick can possibly be caused by a poor diet in the parent birds as all the nutrients needed to develop are in the yolk (obviously)
But as the birds I got (mentioned earlier) that had been near on to starved produced strong, well formed, healthy chicks I do not believe this

But the subject matter has changed slightly
We are not now talking abt a strong chick as we know they hatch
We are talking the main reason why some struggle or fail to hatch

Both you SquareEgg and LooLoo are right = a good diet is important
But this is not always (rarely) the answer
And we need to bear that in mind each time a chick either fails to hatch or has trouble hatching

The question needs to be asked of oneself in these cases = look in the mirror and ask yourself out loud =

“Do I really need a chick that could be weak its whole life? And possibly not grow to its full potential? Am I that desperate for one more chick that I will go to all that trouble and risk the heartache?”
My answer to myself to all of these = “No”

I have posted here previously = it IS each persons individual choice and it is but that doesn’t mean I, or others, have to agree with it


# harsh? perhaps - but I see hatching chicks as a reality check = if it has trouble hatching I let it be up to Mother Nature to decide that chicks fate