This is the fireplace screen I put in the silkie coop to protect the mama silkie that is sitiing on the12 ebay eggs.
Hatch has started!!!!
I am so excited suppose to be a lot of white babies!!!!!I can hear the baby and here is the broken egg shell,can`t wait for it to poke its head out so I can see if its white.Wouldn`t that be something if they all hatch??I already have 5 babies in there and three hens and my rooster.I guess I need to find homes for some of them,but what I really would like is a bigger coop but dh says thats not going to happen I have enough chickens and coops.I was getting worried they were suppose to start hatching yesterday.
This is my favorite of the last chicks I named him Smoke,he looks a lot blacker than this
These are my faerolles and buff orp and buff rock
This is little Raven he looks like his Daddy
The family out on the lawn,you can see Raven the Daddy the black with the gold
Green: I love your pictures, There is nothing more beautiful and peaceful than a beautiful lawn with a great assortment of chickens just peacefully doing their thing. Thanks for sharing. I must speak with husband...lol.
Especially love the one of the lawn, it's picture perfect and looks so relaxing.
What happy looking chickens!
OK you silkie peaple are these light colored babies going to be white??Please say yes I have waited so long for white ones.There are three so far two lights and a partridge and 9 more to go if they all hatch.
Awwww, how cute! I'm not a silkie owner, but my guess would be white. They look a little darker because of their black skin, perhaps? However Feather Site shows some really WHITE chicks so...
You have one partridge there! The two yellow ones will probably be white. They sure are cute! Congrats!
there are so cute. My White Araucana was yellow as a chick
My white Ameraucana was white as a chick but I think those breeds are notorious for color changes as they feather.
Four whites and one partridge so far
The little white chickie looking up at her mommy is so cute. Thinking lots of white Silkie thoughts for you!
Thats all that hatched but am so happy that I have white ones
I have a question I hope someone can help me with. We have a hen setting on 11 fertilized eggs we got from the neighbor. We have no roosters. She went broody so we just got her some eggs to sit on. They should hatch in about 5 days. She's sitting inside the coop on a milk crate. I'd like to move the babies to a smaller coop inside that coop. Do I move the babies as soon as they hatch? Do I put her in there with them or what? Will the other hens be OK with the babies? I have no idea what I'm doing here. Please advise.
Brenda
I would wait untill all have hatched they will stay under her most of the time anyway and she will be very protective and they don`t go very far form mama when they first hatch.After all have hatched then I would move them for safty reasons untill they are a little older.Mine I keep pened up untill the mother lets me know she wants out about 2 weeks.But mine are silkies and they are such good mothers.They will all look after the babies once they are all out togather even the rooster.And I would watch them for a day or so when you do put them out with the others to make sure the others don`t peck them and that the mother is protecting them like she should.
Thank you for the advice. I sure appreciate it. I now have two other hens sitting so I guess I need to get more eggs to put under them. I wasn't counting on having baby chicks at all. I feel if they want to be mothers to let them though. :)
How can you tell when all the eggs have hatched? Do you wait an extra day or two or what?
I wait three days and then throw the rest away.You can also candle them to see if they are alive.If so then let her sit if she wants to or put them in a incubator and let them hatch then put them out with the mother when they have dried off,I slip them under the mother without her knowing at night or if you you do it during day which I have done to just stay and see if she excepts it.What breeds are broody?
The first hen to go broody was my one and only light brahma. She has been sitting faithfully day and night. She only gets off a very few minutes in the morning to eat and drink then right back on that nest. The other two sitting now are golden comets. I wonder if they would have started sitting if Whitey hadn't started the whole thing. Power of suggestion? I never thought any of them would go broody since I have no roosters at all. I have 12 hens and they are about 15 months old now.
Thanks for all the advice. I hope all goes well. It's all a learning experience.
I have 14 golden comets and none have gone broody.Sexlinks are not suppose to go broody but one of my black ones did and I put day old buff orpingtons under her and she raised them.I had another black one that tried to go broody but I kept picking her up and putting her outside and after awhile it took.
We tried doing that with Whitey at first. We even shut the door to the nesting area so she couldn't sit on the nest. She walked up to my husband and she was so hurt and mad. Her feathers were standing straight up on her neck and she was 'talking' to him and pleading. I felt so sorry for her. I told my husband if she wants to be a mother that bad to let her in to her nest and we'll go get some fertilized eggs from the neighbor and put under her. I guess I had sympathy for her because I tried for 5 years to get pregnant and even with intense treatment was only able to have on child. I know that feeling of wanting to 'mother'. :) :) I don't know if birds are the same way but somehow I think they can be. I want happy birds and I know she's very happy sitting on all those eggs. She's a big bird and covers all those eggs nicely. She's very gentle and sweet. The goldens are more fiesty if you get near them. They never were that way till they started sitting on the nest.