The first batch of chicks have hatched for this year and things look good. We do not have a final tally yet, but we’ve picked up a good batch of Cream Legbar and Wellsummer chicks (there are some Salmon Favorelle crosses that we tossed in from a mix that we like.)
The new incubator seems to be doing a really good job. We had “dry membrane” issues with 3 eggs, but I don’t think we’ve seen that before. We did open the brooder up a day early, because of all the ones that had started hatching 3 days before. Next time, we’ll wait for the target day, to see if that prevents this issue.
Most of these chicks are meant to bolster our current numbers, but we plan to start a batch of Blue-laced Wyandotte’s next along with a batch of barnyard mixes and bantams to sell. The operation seems to be working, if we can keep the predators at bay!