I feel like I'm haveing the baby here but I'm not haveing a baby it the silkie hatching today.. I'm nervis as a kid would be.. Any one please give a adavice how to stay com???
Tracey
Day 21 silkie Hatches
Don't open the lid, he/she need the humidity. Let nature take its course. Maybe go out and do a lot yard work?? Is your brooder ready?
I think so is a papertowl good ???
Do I have to put some thing else in their or do I have to wait it out ??? I still have to turn the other eggs will I have to wait on turning them??? I put the silkie egg in on May 29 th at 3:00 pm..
How much longer am I to wait???
Tracey
21 days is the average, no one but the eggs knows when its going to hatch. Do you have a brooder set up? I had to turn one batch when my eggs arrived early. Do it quickly thats all. When did you stop turning the silkie egg?
Don't work yourself up, no one has any idea if it will even hatch. You will be setting yourself up for dissappointment if you keep getting worrying about it.
Just let it happen!!
3 days ago and it's moving around right now and its very exciting to watch... All I have is a papertowl under it and hope that will work but I just hope it works..
Do I need to add more around it????
Tracey
Do I have to addjust the temp in the incubator???
I have a little box in their and a papertowel is that good???
Tracey
No, its only one that is hatching and the others still need daily rolling so if the silkie chick rolls any of the eggs it will only help not hurt. I get paranoid when they are all hatching, a couple hatch early and roll the others around (it might not even make a difference, in my mind it does) and they get out "hatching position"
Did you make or borrow a brooder? Thats where the chicks go after they are all dry and fluffy from the incubator?
Yes I maked a area for the chick. I went and bought a Bird cage For the chick that is hatching
Today.. How long do I have to wait for the chick to dry after it hatches????
Tracey
You shouldn't use a bird cage for the chick
The drafts are what you have to avoid
you want all 4 sides covered like a box
If you have more chicks coming soon get it big enough for them too
A rubbermaid type tub is better with a light,a work light would work,with a 100 watt bulb ,hung over it
shavings on the bottom
a water dish and a dish with chick starter
crestedchik,
I have a rubbermaid type tub I could use for the chicks..But would sand work better that shavings???
LoraK, Thank you..
Tracey
Tracey make sure you put the light on one side of the brooder, that way the chick can get away from the heat if its too hot. I put shavings down, then papertowels. I sprinkle food around and keep the rest in the feeder. The waterer I would add marbles or those flat glass decorative beads so it doesn't drown. It should be around 95 under the light and 5 degrees less every week. If I were you I would even add a stuffed animals something small and fluffy maybe one under the light (not directly under the light though) and one away from the light, I notice my chicks sleeping on each other. You can get a cheap clamp on light at a hardware store or walmart (petstores are around $14)
heres what they look like http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441780325&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302030051&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023694&bmUID=1182195488992&itemNo=8&In=Reptile&N=2030051&Ne=2
If you need any help with your brooder just ask! Do you have a cat or anything that will hurt the chick?
No sand. Paper towels only or even old towels will work. Its just something to keep the bottom of the brooder clean (and easy to keep clean) Changing papertowels or towels is easy and fast. DONT USE NEWSPAPER, its too slippery and you will end up with splayed legged chicks. You do NOT want to put anything in there the chicks will eat, sand and shavings will kill a chick (older chicks can live on shavings). They put everything in the beaks and the shavings and sand will not pass thru them and they will die.
No cats no dogs.. Two hamsters and one fish and 3 barred rocks..Nothing to hurt them.. Do I need anything else???
Tracey
LoraK,
Thank you for the ideas..
Why no News paper???
Is sand bad for them because I've heard its easy to clean up the phoo..
Tracey
Newspaper is very slippery to those tiny feet and they cannot grip right and end up splayed legged. Sand is really bad, they will eat it and get it "stuck" and they will feel full and not eat, then they starve to death. So papertowels. I am not sure at what age you can switch to shavings. I know around here you can get a huge bag at the feed and grain store for $3.00 and it will last for ever. I clean my brooder two to three times a day, depending on the pooping
LoraK,
Thank you very much if I have any questions I will come here..
Tracey
No silkie yet still waiting...
Tracey
Tracey, when we hatched our first silkie eggies they hatched a few days late, don't give up yet.
Cathy
Tracey, just make sure the humidity is high and keep the incu closed. Im with everyone , patience is so hard at this time!
Now as far as the Brooder goes, we seem to have a lot of controversy. Every one has their own way of brooding the youngsters! My brooder just happens to be a Small bird cage with paper towels in the bottom for one or two babies , and a larger 3X2 cage for the larger amount of Chickies! At 1 week , I put them on play sand, if they have their feeder and waterer in the brooder with them they know by 1week that this is where they eat! They will naturally pick the sand ( just like if they were on the ground with their Mom) to put grit in the Crop to digest their food! This is natural, I have never heard of the sand killing a Chick! Unless the chick has no access to Chick Food! Then it will find anything it can, to eat. I have always put my week olds on sand with no problems, There natural tendancy to "scratch" is something they have to learn!
A Clamp light or small lamp with a 25 Watt Red light over the cage is fine. Just make sure you dont put the brooder near an air conditioning vent. Keep them dry and warm, but dont let them get hot. just a pleasant warm area like Mommy!
Just remember , Try to think "What would the chick do if it were with its Mama?
I agree
lots of different ways to do it
I have raise mine on shavings since forever
never heard of one dying from eating shavings
or sand
if they were running around freerange they'd be exposed to all kinds of stuff to
I think we all agree...nothing slippery
Okay No news paper only towels and paper towels..
Thank you.. Then a in a week play sand...
Tracey
I read that you shouldn't raise them on either. I might be a wee bit over protective, if it could happen then I want to prevent it. I have had very good luck with paper towels over shavings then just shavings, its my first time incubating and raising fowl so I did a lot of reading and asking on boards, and this is the method I thought was best.
Guess its like raising kids, everyone has their way and no one is wrong!
Eufaula,cbrandenburg,
You have D-mail...
LoraK,
I'm going with cbrandenburg and Eufaula, crestechik
On this one thanks for your help...
I think everyone has there own way of brooding chicks like everyone said. We use felt squares, LOL. I had a lot of felt in my sewing box and though it would work instead of using the shavings or sand when they are little. I like it, I have several and change them everyday.
Watching my mama silkies raise there chicks, Eufaula is right, they eat everything out side that there mama eats. She will cluck a special cluck and the chicks watch her, she's showing them what to eat. I should also mention that the rooster does this also, he's so funny. When I bring treats he starts clucking just like the mama.
Cbrandenburg, You and Eufaula are so sweet and I am thinking we would make great friends and other friends here it's cool here.
The chicks will hatch and your next batch should hatch better I would think... Good Luck and we will talk soon..
Tracey
Still waiting and Hope tommorow It will hatch...
Lora , everyone has a different way Sweetie! You are right to read everything you can and see what everyone has been doing! Then you make up your mind about which way is best for you, and you stick to it ! That is how we all learn and how we all find out which way is best for us! It sounds like you have been doing very well and we are proud of you and your success!
I like to watch the Mama hens and try to learn from them and I read everything here,trying to learn something everyday! So far I have done just that, everyday something new is added and I love it!
So when someone asks a question, we may get a dozen different answers, tooooo Cool! Then we put them all together and get a realistic median answer. No one is always right and certainly no one is always wrong , just different ways for different folks!
Tracey, Happy Birthday ! I was really hoping the chick would hatch for your special day!
Eufaula,
Thank you.... I was hopeing it would too but so far no silkie yet...
maybe will I go with KB today to work it will hatch..
Tracey
Still waiting for the silkie to hatch...
Silkie is still in the egg and my 3 Barred Rocks are 25 weeks old
How many more months do I have to go????
Tracey
If its been 24 or 25 days in the incubator chances are it not going to hatch
I usually leave mine till the 24th day...just incase there was a slow grower in there but usually nothing pops out after 22nd day....for me at least
I agree with crestedchick, I don't think it's going to hatch now. I know your probably not supposed to do this, but I crack them gently and see why it didn't hatch, a lot of the times they just were not fertile. So sorry Tracey, but you have others that are going to hatch soon. I might be able to send you some silkie eggies soon if you would like to try again after your other hatch is done.
Cathy
Thank you.. You all are so sweet and maybe the ones I have in the bator will hatch soon on June 27Th...
That would be great Cathy...
Thank you...
Tracey
baby silkie died ..
I'm sorry Tracey.
Incubating is very exciting but it's also saddening as well. There are so many things that can go wrong...sometimes things we can't control. Try not to feel too bad, and hope for better luck with the other eggs!!!
Julie
Thank You...
How will I tell my son NB????
It's going to be harde on telling him the silkie didn't make it..
Tracey
I would tell him that while baby chicks are very small they have to be very strong to break out of a shell. Breaking out of a shell is a BIG job and sometimes chicks just aren't strong enough to do the job.
Just a thought, hope you come up with something to make him feel less sad about it.
~Julie
Thank you Julie this will work and you helped me alot ..
This is the first silkie to hatch and it died so 17 more on June
27 th hope they hatch... Keep are fingers crossed...
Tracey