First time hatcher needing advice

[Jayden Owens]

I've had chickens for the past 7 years, 3 americauna in 2018 and then 4 silkies last year in 2022. (First chicken to pass was one of the americuanas from ascites at 6 years old, we relocated one of our silkies cause 3 out 4 turned out to be roosters, and just last week I lost my precious favorite boy silky to drowning)

Our only silky girl is currently sitting on 5 fertilized eggs, layed between Sept 3rd and Sept 8th and this is our first time hatching our own chicks, the others were bought as chicks from stores.

I am currently nervous about hatching chicks for the first time and want to know everything I need to make sure I do everything right. I want to know what I should look out for and what protocols I should do in case something is wrong? What do I need to do to make sure the chicks hatch as safe? I have been checking them each night after dark and they are developing well. All we have is our one girl to ensure the eggs hatch and I am doing everything to make sure she is okay and happy while she hatches them (she had food and water within reach of her nest and we have a camera in the coop and I go out and see her multiple times a day)

I'm mainly scared about all the sad things I hear that could happen to little chicks, including sudden unexplained death. I got my first 3 chickens from my high school science teacher that would bring in chick eggs and incubate in the class and auction them off some time after they catch. One incident during some of the chicks hatching was a birth defect where all its internal organs developed outside of its body and had to be mercy killed (which I did not stay to see).



I just really want to be as educated as possible and possibly reassured of some of the things im scared about just in case Im letting fear control my thoughts. I am not doing okay after losing my baby boy and I want to prevent anymore loss.

(The picture is unrelated, I just wanted to show an image of my sweet boy..)

 

[Duckduckchicken32]

I’m sorry for your loss. As far as the chicks go, broody hens should take care of the rest. If you want to have some nutri drench on hand, that’s great for ailing chicks.

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

I’m sorry you lost your boy

As for hatching goes
Mom should do good but I would have a bator ready to go just in case she stops sitting ( doesn’t happen often but it can and having a plan B ready makes it go smooth ) if you don’t own one maybe see if you can borrow from somebody
When the little ones are born make sure mom and babies are blocked off from any other birds
I put a temporary fence of hardware cloth to keep my other ducks away from mom and babies for a few weeks
I put out starter feed instead of moms regular feed a few days before hatch time
This won’t hurt mom to have the extra protein as she will have lost a little weight by sitting and eating minimal for 3 weeks
Make sure to have water dishes low so babies can reach
Mom will teach them to eat and drink when she is ready
I got to sit back and enjoy watching a mom bird with her young
All I did was be a maid once a day keeping the area clean and giving fresh feed and water
Good luck and keep us posted

 

[Jayden Owens]

I’m sorry you lost your boy

As for hatching goes
Mom should do good but I would have a bator ready to go just in case she stops sitting ( doesn’t happen often but it can and having a plan B ready makes it go smooth ) if you don’t own one maybe see if you can borrow from somebody
When the little ones are born make sure mom and babies are blocked off from any other birds
I put a temporary fence of hardware cloth to keep my other ducks away from mom and babies for a few weeks
I put out starter feed instead of moms regular feed a few days before hatch time
This won’t hurt mom to have the extra protein as she will have lost a little weight by sitting and eating minimal for 3 weeks
Make sure to have water dishes low so babies can reach
Mom will teach them to eat and drink when she is ready
I got to sit back and enjoy watching a mom bird with her young
All I did was be a maid once a day keeping the area clean and giving fresh feed and water
Good luck and keep us posted

Thank you for the advice! I do have one more thing I'm concerned about. I read that first time mother hens can kill her newly hatched chicks... how frequently to cases like that occur? I've read up on what to do in case it happens but it worries me still

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

Thank you for the advice! I do have one more thing I'm concerned about. I read that first time mother hens can kill her newly hatched chicks... how frequently to cases like that occur? I've read up on what to do in case it happens but it worries me still

You just need to keep a close watch on her
I worried about that to as I had heard and read this many times.
My girls did great
You have cameras
If you do see she is picking on them then bring them in to a brooder and raise them
I had one set up ready to go just in case
I always like to have plan b ready

 

[Jayden Owens]

You just need to keep a close watch on her
I worried about that to as I had heard and read this many times.
My girls did great
You have cameras
If you do see she is picking on them then bring them in to a brooder and raise them
I had one set up ready to go just in case
I always like to have plan b ready

Once again thank you! Sorry, guess I am crazy nervous for my first time hatching some chicks, your advice definitely helps ease it!

 

[NCchickentender]

I'm sorry for your loss.
This site has sooo much great information on it! Just use the search and put in a keyword!! You will find an answer here! lol
I've read silkie mommas are great! I've never had any with chicks so I have no first-hand experience with them but I ordered 6 eggs that are supposed to be here tomorrow! (yayyyyyy!!!) lol
Search in the articles section. There are some very helpful posts there. Good luck!

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

Once again thank you! Sorry, guess I am crazy nervous for my first time hatching some chicks, your advice definitely helps ease it!

You’re very welcome
Don’t feel bad for asking
We all have those same fears our first time

 

[Jayden Owens]

Update: 4 out 5 eggs successfully hatched, unfortunately number 5 pipped but passed sometimes in the first 24 hours, the other 4 chicks pipped and fully hatched within 1 hour so I assumed number 5 didn't make it. Even though it remained under mama hen this whole time, the interior was dried out.

We had 3 silkies in total, 2 roosters and 1 hen, and based off they looked when they were chicks, 2 was fathered by the rooster that's still with us, and 1 was fathered by my boy that passed, the other looks too much like mama to tell who the father is.

But the 4 that survived the hatching stage look very healthy and already ready to explore

The pictures only show a couple of the chicks

 

[Jayden Owens]

Update: 4 out 5 eggs successfully hatched, unfortunately number 5 pipped but passed sometimes in the first 24 hours, the other 4 chicks pipped and fully hatched within 1 hour so I assumed number 5 didn't make it. Even though it remained under mama hen this whole time, the interior was dried out.

We had 3 silkies in total, 2 roosters and 1 hen, and based off they looked when they were chicks, 2 was fathered by the rooster that's still with us, and 1 was fathered by my boy that passed, the other looks too much like mama to tell who the father is.

But the 4 that survived the hatching stage look very healthy and already ready to explore

The pictures only show a couple of the chicks