We've enjoyed our Silkie chickens for many years, and I've never seen this happen before. I found 2 newly hatched chicks dead in the coop, and another chick who was barely alive. This baby was set away from the multiple broody hens who seemed pre-occupied with the existing eggs. When I put...
We have 3 broody hens sitting on a large clutch of eggs. Today is day 22, and there are no babies yet. It has been brutally HOT here over the past few days, and I am afraid that the heat is affecting the hatch. The coop is shaded and they have plenty of shavings and water. How will the heat...
Wrap the "pipping" (drying out) eggs in a wet paper towel leaving the open area exposed. I've done that a few times for desperate cases in the past, and it worked for me. Good luck!
We have 4 partridge silkies in our "flock": 2 hens, a rooster, and one "teenager". The adolescent chick was the only one that hatched out of 10 eggs from a spring brood. When the hens started laying again, I put a few of their eggs in an incubator, and yesterday, TWO hatched. They are so...
Yes, I can certainly isolate Blondie, and just keep her in the pen most of the time. I'm just not sure Blondie is the problem at this point. It sure looks like Mama is also eating the eggs! Wondering if she might be just be getting rid of the eggs that aren't viable? Am I being too naive...
We have a brooding Silkie named Cherie sitting on a clutch of (what should be) fertile eggs and tomorrow is day 21 of the countdown. We are all are happily awaiting the peeping of baby chicks in the coop. Yesterday, however, we found an empty, broken egg shell kicked out of the nest, but no...
Thanks so much, Maureen. I am amazed at how well the hens and rooster have done in the cold this past winter, but their chicks are so tiny and I really don't want them to freeze. I've hatched eggs in an incubator from a hatchery (for school) many times, but this is the first year we've had our...
Our two partridge silkie chickens are co-brooding a clutch of 12 eggs. So far, 7 gorgeous chicks have hatched over the past week. Unfortunately we lost one baby, but 6 of them are running around in the coop eating and drinking and scooting under the hen. One mama is still sitting on the nest...