There are chicken breeds that practically hatch themselves.
Swedish Flower Hens? No problem.
Icelandics? Born ready.
Hedemora? Practically hatch out, stretch, and ask for fermented feed.
And then there are Olandsk Dwarfs.
Tiny white eggs. High hopes.
Tiny heartbreaks.
🧬 Not All Breeds Are Built for Easy Hatching
Landraces aren’t designer chickens. They’re survivors, shaped by weather, isolation, and time—not production standards. And while that makes them fascinating to raise, it can make them frustrating to hatch.
Take Olandsk Dwarfs, for example.
Fertility? Amazing.
I candle at Day 7 and see nearly 100% development. Strong veins. Wiggling embryos. Little champs.
But then we get to lockdown.
And they just. Don’t. Hatch.
No external pips. No zipping. Just heartbreak inside a perfect little shell.
🧠 But Why Even Try?
Because these breeds deserve a future.
Because Olandsk Dwarfs are clever, curious, and adorable little weirdos—and there aren’t enough of them left.
Because every egg that hatches is a win for biodiversity.
And because landraces aren’t just chickens.
They’re stories we get to help continue.
🧪 What I’ve Learned (Usually the Hard Way)
-
Fertility ≠ Hatchability
Especially in landraces, perfect-looking embryos can fail to make the final leap. Oxygen exchange, shell thickness, chick position—it all matters more than we think. -
Dry incubation helps—but doesn’t guarantee.
I’ve tweaked everything from humidity curves to hatch day rituals. Results still vary. -
Stop blaming yourself.
If development is strong but hatch fails, it's not always your fault. Some lines are just harder. -
Celebrate the ones who make it.
That one Olandsk Dwarf chick that does burst out of the shell? It's a freaking legend.
I've tested it all:
✔️ Lower humidity
✔️ Higher humidity
✔️ Dry incubation
✔️ Minimal opening
✔️ Maximal praying
Same results.
Beautifully developed chicks that never make it out.
And I still don’t have the magic formula.
Not because I’m careless—because this is what preservation looks like.
Sometimes it’s not about doing everything “right.”
It’s about staying in the game even when it doesn’t go your way.
😔 The Heartbreak is Real
Sometimes I set 14 eggs and get 3 chicks.
Sometimes it’s 0.
Sometimes the only one that hatches doesn’t make it past Day 2.
And yeah—I cry about it. I second-guess myself. I swear I won’t do it again.
And then I do.
Because I believe in these birds.
Because someone has to.
💡 Every Chick Is a Step Forward
Even when the hatch doesn’t go how I planned—
Even when I lose more than I keep—
I still set those eggs.
Because every single chick that hatches is a win for the breed.
Each one adds to the gene pool.
Each one is a little more data, a little more insight, and a little more hope that the next generation will be stronger.
Preservation breeding isn’t about getting perfect numbers.
It’s about playing the long game.
And believing that every stubborn, scrappy chick who does make it could carry something that changes the outcome for the ones after them.
🔥 Preservation Isn’t Just Breeding—It’s Believing
If we want these breeds to outlive us, we have to do the hard parts too.
That means trying again after a failed hatch.
It means celebrating small wins—like one feisty little Olandsk Dwarf chick zipping out and thriving.
And it means inviting others into the messy, magical, not-always-Pinterest-perfect process.
🥚 Want to Try a Hatch That Matters?
If you’re here for survival genetics, landrace grit, and honest-to-Clancy chicken keeping—
we’re your people.
👉 Shop Our Hatching Eggs Collection
🧠 Clancy Crowed It:
“You want 100% hatch rates? Buy plastic chickens. You want the real thing? Buckle up.”
