April 2024 hatch-a-long

[Silkiebegins]

I was using a homemade incubator. So not a big success rate. I think I only have 3 that are still developing and 5 new eggs in storage. All I know are fertilized.

 

[AusHen]

Super happy with this hatch. 6 girls 4 boys (forgot to add the fourth boy in the pic)

The girls


The boys

 

[Honora]

Very cute! How do you tell the girls from the boys?

 

[AusHen]

I'm not 100% on all of them, but now they are feathering I can seperate the lighter wheaten pullets from the darker cockerels, the pullets are also feathering in twice as fast so I can group the others with what I think they are.
These I have down as a pair, cockerel and pullet

 

[Silkiebegins]

I'm not 100% on all of them, but now they are feathering I can seperate the lighter wheaten pullets from the darker cockerels, the pullets are also feathering in twice as fast so I can group the others with what I think they are.
These I have down as a pair, cockerel and pullet

I heard based on their wing feathering you can tell if they're male or female. It's kinda like a 70% thing.

 

[Silkiebegins]

Are they inside chicks?

 

[AusHen]

7 are inside under a brooder plate, 3 inside under a broody. With wing length it is hit or miss but I can sex the wheaten based off colour, then I use their siblings so compare. So I'm positive 4 are pullets and 2 are cockerels. The pair I posted show the difference in wheaten genders

 

[Silkiebegins]

So people told me I shouldn't mess with the egg but I couldn't help not to candle it. So I got a flashlight and just put it up against the air cell of the egg during the last days. So when I woke up this morning I finally had seen what I've been wanting to see. The chicken had finally broken into the air cell. I passed the egg an hour later and then I heard a little faint chirp. I had heard it in the middle of the night too. But I didn't think much of it. But I heard it again and again coming from my incubator. So I finally opened my incubator and put my ear against the egg and what I heard was a beautiful chirp. I then candled my egg and saw its mouth move. So now I can't wait to see the cute little silkie.

 

[Silkiebegins]

The egg is now hatching and is now almost out.

 

[Silkiebegins]

The egg is now hatching and is now almost out.