Breeding silkied Cochin bantams to the Standard

[Auntiejessi3]

I enjoy the detailed updates, and this whole thread has been quite a ride! Thank you!

 

[NanaK]

I like the detailed updates especially the ones with photos.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Thanks for the input, everyone! I'll continue posting as I have been, then.



I've updated my silkied Cochin page to reflect the new plan for the breeding pens as of Harley's passing. I've also removed Dean and Levi from the page as I've decided to go ahead and sell them to make room for cockerels I'll be growing out. Wyatt is my breeder boy for the Blue pen, and Zeke and Jack will remain as backups just in case anything happens with the others, at least until I've got some decent growout cockerels for the job. I intend to list the non-keeper chicks for sale after this next batch hatches and gets their feet under them as well, all as a group. That should make some more room in the brooder, and I shouldn't have to worry about chicks from the wrong pairing anymore after that. Well, and I'll let Athena keep the two non-keepers from her hatch (assuming both do hatch) until she decides not to mother them anymore and then list them as well.

Anyway, the page if anyone wants to take a look--but I think I've discussed all of those changes here so it shouldn't be anything new: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/pipds-peeps.72248/page/silkied-cochin-bantams.95/

Slight edit for clarity​

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Lock down! This should be the last time I have to worry about catching chicks as they hatch to differentiate them, too!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Draw down is occurring on all three eggs! Based on the previous hatches, I estimate about 12 hours until external pips and 28-36 hours until they hatch.

(That assumes that draw down happened recently and not, well, right after I checked them last night or something, of course!)

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

First pip of batch 5! I almost missed it, it's so tiny!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

No change in the eggs, but I almost forgot the weekly pictures for the already hatched babies, so I got those real quick to post!

The three-week-olds; it's early to be too confident in this, but it looks like a pullet and a cockerel out of these two. Too bad the suspected pullet (first picture) is the non-keeper of the two. Thinking the cockerel will go in the listing with the non-keeper chicks when I put them up for sale, as I don't at all like how his comb looks already... and I'm sure I'll have plenty more cockerels to choose from anyway.

The two-week-olds, in the same order as the last time I posted them; first two are non-keepers and last two are potential keepers:

And the one-week-olds, all potential keepers except for the second picture:

And it occurred to me that I haven't done a monthly photo shoot for last year's birds since I think February, so I've got to try to remember to do that soon! Athena brooding might complicate things a bit, at least for her picture, but the rest shouldn't be a problem once the weather clears up.

Slight edit for clarity​

 

[Auntiejessi3]

I love fluffy butts!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

All three lock down eggs are pipped now! I don't know when exactly the last two pipped, but it was within the last hour or two, so I fear another middle of the night hatch is coming... But at least the one non-keeper was the one that pipped yesterday afternoon, so should be hatched well before the two potential keepers so that I can differentiate them.

One is pipped where it's impossible to get a good, clear picture of, but you can kind of sort of almost see it on the egg in the background of this picture:

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

I went up to check progress again and there's a baby!