Please visit http://www.ebay.com to see special auctions that might be going at ID: hall7030 or visit http://www.eggbid.com to see more egg or poultry specials at ID: A1Blues. Check out our buyers feedback on many egg shipments & successful hatches.
- Selection of good quality fertile mature breeding stock that are not too old & by making sure one has a good rooster/hen ratio.
- Providing fresh clean water with vitamins and electryolytes and plenty of free choice scratch grains, layer mash and providing the opportunity for birds to be range reared by grazing on pastures freely and getting plenty of sunshine help to have healthy offspring.
- Careful collection of eggs with a clean container and clean hands so greasy residue does not get on the eggs.
- Examination of eggs for cracks at the time of collection and time of packaging of eggs. Providing plenty of clean nests box helps prevent hens from breaking eggs while wanting the same nest box. Straw & wood chips are better than wire cages or metal nest box that cause scrapes & blemishes to the eggs.
- Selection of eggs that are not too small, not thin shelled, or lopsided. We select nice uniform eggs for shipment only & provide up to 3 extra eggs in each shipment.
- Good selection of Eggs that have not been frozen or chilled
- When you receive your eggs you will know that we cared about your order & its outcome by packaging each egg with cushion packaging materials and adding the below professional hatching egg label. It has been proven successful in providing a much safer environment for your eggs. Down to please do not x-ray!
- Now with all of the above having been accomplished we are in hopes that we will continue to have a huge success rate of delivering unbroken eggs through the postal system. We would suggest that you send your phone number so I can add it to the box so the Post Office can contact you to pick up your eggs.
-Keep check on the temperature (Still air incubators without a turbo fan 101 degrees , and circulated air ( has a turbo fan) are 99.5 degrees. As the chicks develop & maintain more body heat one might need to adjust the temperature by lowering the heat with very fine adjustments while observing the temperature decrease making sure the temperature does no fall below the recommended temperature for hatching.
- Proper ventilation and proper moisture is important. (Follow manufacturer recommendations)
- Turning of eggs is important. Auto turners will allow eggs to be turned several times of day verses manual turning of eggs 2-3 times a day.
- Around day 10 , we candle the eggs by placing the egg on top of a flashlight while in a dark room & slowly turn the egg observing to see if there are dark large spots in the eggs (or the chicks eyes) and we will also observe to see if there are veins throughout the egg. This has all indications of a baby chick forming in the egg. If the eggs are totally clear than those eggs are not fertile & you discard those.
- On day 18, we take the eggs carefully out of the turner and lay them flat on the incubator tray & add warm water to all trays. During this time we candle the eggs again to check for continued development of the chick. The egg should be dark everywhere accept the light air pocket on the large end of the egg. If in doubt about the development of any egg, one can always give that egg up to 3 days extra to see if anything happens.
Keep the incubator closed until the hatch is completed. To get too excited...............by opening the incubator up frequently will cause warm moist air to be released causing baby chicks to stick to the egg and quite often the end result is death.
- Leave the eggs in the incubator for another 2-3 days making sure that the hatch is completed. If you want to carefully crack open any unhatched eggs or help baby chicks out the shell, please keep in mind that while you want to help the chick it is possible that the chick has been depleted of oxygen while staying in the egg too long and might experience leg problems.
- If your hatch is delayed a day or two than your temperature is too low. If your eggs start hatching out 2-3 days early than the temperature is too high. Make temperature adjustments carefully until you have that special formula.
- Once the chicks are hatched one will need to have a warm place to keep the babies. If one does not have a chicken brooder..............a large cardboard box is handy by adding newspaper to the bottom of box, adding woodshavings and necessary food & water. Dip each beak in the water making sure the chicks know where to get water. I use a heat lamp extended about 3+ feet. Also make sure your box is large enough so chicks are not overcrowded and allow the chicks to be able to move in and out of heat.
If the chicks are peeping a lot check on the following: if they have food and water, if they are huddled & seem cold, or if they act too hot and are panting, and check to see if any waste is collecting on the rear ends of any of the baby chicks. If this occurs the chick will seem distressed & peep a lot since it is difficult to go to the bathroom. One can use a warm moistened paper towel to carefully remove the waste if matting occcurs. Matting most likely occurs in the first week after being hatched & chicks will outgrow this problem.
Thank you for your interest in our Jersey Giants. We hope you have a successful hatch and will have enjoyed every minute of hatching your very own chicks from some exceptionally nice show quality Jersey Giants.
It is our goal for you to receive your eggs by Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation within 7 to 8 days of having been freshly laid.
For further information feel free to email me at the email address below or call at (812) 752-7825 or call 502/548-1075.
MHbluegiants4u@aol.com