2nd try ...little bit nervous

[Silkie Sue]

Hi Everybody...
Been enjoying all the useful info and stories on all your successful hatchings.
If any one remembers back in June I had my Silkie sitting on 13 eggs and by the end I had 7 and none hatched...after 5 days overdue I broke the eggs open and found dead chicks in all of them.I have since learned that the shells were too hard and the chicks couldn't get out

I have been taking her off the eggs every day and misting them with water ( don't know if this will help) We are at day 15 and they all have chicks in them
On day 21 I will be helping them out if they don't show signs of emerging on their own. I don't want them to not be able to get out and die again. Open to any advise.

 

[justusnak]

Good luck with this hatch. I hope you get a better hatch than last time. It is a little disheartening to have a complete fail hatch. Been there/done that. I am getting ready to set some eggs as well. I know its getting late in the year...but...I just HAVE too!
Sounds like misting them has been good, but I would be concerned about taking her off so often...1) she might not return one time. 2) They may cool down. Keep us updated...

 

[silkiechicken]

What stage were they at dead in the shells? I don't really believe the whole egg is too hard for them to get out thing. It's a calcium carbonate structure that has great integrity if pressed "in" from out but is weak when pressing "out" from in. I bet it was something else. 13 eggs for a silkie? To me that seems like a lot to cover for such a small bird, else my silkie is tiny. Is it possible that eggs weren't always in skin contact with the mom thus incubation took too long and nobody had the final energy to make it? Candle them at day 10 and decide from there if you need to mist or not. If humidity is too high, chicks can get too "mushy" and also not make it out of the shell. The egg needs to lose enough water for a proper hatch.

 

[Silkie Sue]

Now you are making me scared... I will stop misting. I will candle them again and make sure they all still look good.
She has 11 eggs this time. When she had 13 only 7 survived because she decided she would sit on them in my Llama's stall and we had a few accidents.This time she has kicked the dog out of his house and has been sitting in there.
Last time when I broke the eggs open the chicks were fully formed but it did seem like a lot of yolk left in the egg. So should I go ahead with the original plan to "start crackin" if I don't see any happenings on day 21?

 

[hinkjc]

With no signs of something happening on day 21, I would most definitely "not" do anything. Sometimes hens don't have the science down quite right and will hatch their young later. I would let nature take its course.

Jody

 

[silkiechicken]

Let the eggs go till day 25 before you do any cracking. And when you do candle again, check for the size of the air pocket.

 

[Silkie Sue]

Well OK.... 5 days left til day 21.. I hope it just goes better this time because if i DON'T get any this time

Why are these little guys so frustrating???

 

[ChrystalGail]

Thanks for the diagram Silkiechicken! That will hopefully help me a lot! We are on day 12. This waiting thing is the hardest part!!!!!

 

[Flufnstuffs~FluffySilkies]

Hello, 13 was to many for a first time broody silkie. How many does she have this time???
The most I will let my silkies sit on is 7, and then only if I have a experianced mother that
hatched and raised babies. If not I only give them 4/5 eggs.
If you have to many eggs under her and she can not keep them fully under her to maintain the temps needed for a sucessful growing then your hatch rate will be poor. Eggs could get chilled for to long and die, then as she moves/rolls them around others may become to close to the edge or not covered at all and die. That just goes on and on till you have none left.

Good luck I sure hope she hatches some for you.
Can't wait to see pictures.
Melanie

 

[Silkie Sue]

I am learning more and more everyday...
She is sitting on 11 and we are on day 17. What you said about not being able to cover them all makes sense because a few times I have seen a couple sticking out a bit... but for the most part she has them all covered. I don't have the heart to cull some now that we are sooo close. They have been candled and they are all viable. I will definitlely keep the numbers down to 6 or 7 next time. Thankyou all for great advise even if it is not want I want to hear...Keep ya posted.