While the weather was blustery here on Friday, the temperature in the incubator was at tropical levels (99 degrees F) with high humidity (60%). The chicks were rockin' and rollin' in the unseasonal temperatures, shedding shell like it was going out of style.
Two chicks with puffy buff hairdos (buff silkies, both vaulted) were completely unshelled by the time the bars closed on Friday night.
Saturday was calmer. While the sun shone outside, the chicks slept in, having apparently partied too hard the day before. Sunday I had three chicks hatch (one black silkie, vaulted, and two silkieX 'layers').
Five chicks in one weekend,... for a gal dedicated to staggered hatches, that's not too bad.
One thing I'm really impressed with is the egglaying performance of my silkieX layer. She was the result of a friends black australorp crossed on a silkie hen. I took one chick to keep another (single chick hatch) company, and kept it as it was a hen. Well,... because I wanted to know which one of the two hens has been laying non-stop all winter without lighting, I hatched a couple eggs. Guess what? It was the silkieX hen (both chicks have the five toes and some degree of leg feathering- father is huge white wyandotte).
I was impressed. My purebred silkies aren't good layers, they could hatch a rock if given one hence the issue- they go broody ALL THE TIME, so I am just amazed at the parentage of the chicks. Wow!
....and this has been the weekend hatching report. Back to you, Dave.
...and now, the weekend hatching report
Hi Ultasol, congratulations on a fruitful weekend!
Wonderful reporting!
I have two silkie crosses....but although they brood like demons, their egg laying is not stellar. Must be the Antipodean influence.
Hey Utasol, Congrats are in order. It's a small world. I lived in Kennewick at one time in the sixties, and worked at the mill in Walulla at the junction. They tell me I would not recognize the place anymore as it is all grown up. Well anyway welcome to the forum and again WAY TO GO...Haystack
Well congrats are in order!! I have had one lone silky white roo for about 6 months and love him so now i have 6 more hehehe they are young so i dont know the sexes yet but i cant wait!! The adult white roo is in with my cochins so i think I too will hatch some eggs from that cage before i set him up with his new pals.Right now we have 5 chicken pens as we try to keep the breeds pure however this year we will have to add at least 5 more chicken pens as i now have added 2 more breeds already and im not done giggle.right now we have barred rocks,polish, bantam cohins,bantam black breasted red game birds both in standard size and bantam size,arucana,and a mistery bantam who are my best layers.I thought they were a mix breed but they are very uniform in appearance and i think its just a breed i havent identified as of yet.I will get some pictures of them some time this week mabie someone knows what they are.
Wow! You have quite a poultry farm there. Can't wait to see the photos.
I do raise purebred silkies, but they are kept inside, in my shop (spoiled rotten stinkers) whereas the layers are outside.
I am actually selling all of my chickens except for the silkieX layer and my purebreds (a pair of black laced wyandottes from the natl champ breeder and my silkies).
I have someone coming today to look at my White Wyandotte roo and my Red Star hen and EE hen.
I just need to focus. There are so many amazing breeds it's difficult (well, that and I *love* poultry), but it will be better for my breeding program.
The chicks are doing very well. I haven't lost a single chick this season that has pipped and I have 20 some odd chicks in the brooder. I did hatch one lone sebastopol from a clutch that was abandoned. Didn't expect anything to hatch, so she was a surprise, but she was weak and didn't make it.
C'est la vie, you just can't win them all. Attached is picture of newly hatched silkie clearly showing the 'vaulted skull'. This probably ranks up there with the dumbest traits to ever be bred into an animal- along with the extreme conformation of the English Bulldog- but it's linked to extreme crests needed for show.
