Are silkie eggs harder to hatch than other breeds? Opinions please...

[Three Cedars Silkies]

It seems that the chicks have a bit of a harder time. Is this my imagination? I was wondering if it's because of the vaulted skull on almost all of the ones that I've hatched.

 

[Barnyard]

I have had horrible hatch rates with silkie eggs. So no it is not your imagination. I do have to say though that the serama's have the silkies beat....

 

[SunAngel]

I was about to say the exact opposite. Out of all the eggs I got from another BYC'er...I would get a couple standard breeds to hatch, but almost all of the silkies would hatch. I seem to have no problem hatching them. They hatch early and get out of their shells easier than the standards.

 

[Paganbird]

The last time I incubated silkies they were shipped from a BYCer. I received 12 shipped silkie eggs. I accidentally broke one during candling. The other 11 hatched. And they were shipped.
The BR eggs that were in with the silkie eggs (picked up locally) only had about an 80% hatch rate.
I guess that is saying that I don't think silkies are any harder to hatch. Perhaps you encountered a heriditary issue from certain silkie stock?
I just don't know.

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Quote:
OMG...I am so jealous!

I am sitting at work worrying with one chick in the bator from this morning, one pipped and 7 others with NOTHING...on day 21.

When we were raising cochins, they would all pip just about the same time and from pip to zip to hatch was usually no more than a few hours.

Edited to add that the eggs I've gotten have all been from top breeders with show stock. Perhaps highly bred birds aren't as hardy??

 

[Paganbird]

Quote:
Hmmm... I don't know.
Are the eggs from the same breeder, or different breeders? Were they shipped far? Could it be the shipping methods?

 

[Dar]

i think it can depend on your bator too

i have a silkie who loves

going broody on me so my silkie hatch rate is pretty good...lol

 

[Laurelm]

Interesting ….sounds like it's about 50/50. I am getting my first silkies eggs in a couple days from AZ - I'm in CA so I hope they'll be okay.

I am having a real hard time hatching Sebright eggs. Out of 45 eggs over the last 2 hatches only 2 have hatched!! The eggs are all shipped and not all have been fertile but still I think that's ridiculous! My other eggs are hatching fine.

Anyone else have trouble with hatching sebrights??

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Yes...the eggs are from 4 or 5 different breeders. A bunch has loose aircells and I knew there was little hope for them. Some of those did develop chicks but they had weird aircells...saddle shaped, down one side, etc...and none of the chicks hatched from them. The quit around day 18 or so.

I got some dirty lavender eggs from one person and none of those developed, even though the aircells were intact.

Most of the chicks have very large vaulted skulls and I was wondering if that made a difference.

Thanks for everyone's input.

 

[Cherlyn]

Quote:
I have six seramas in the 'bator right now... why do you say that? Do I need to do anything special for these eggs?

~Cherlyn