I have 3 that have gone broody but I take the eggs. I didn't think they where fertile but I put them in the bator to see and out of 20 eggs only 4 where infertile and 2 with blood rings. So I set the next batch last night. Another dozen. They have slowed down on the laying and one that is broody isn't laying at all. She sits on an empty nest. Silly girl. I moved her to the white sillie pen since she is the same color. The roo in that pen isn't old enough to make any eggs she lays fertile. That pen now has a trio. The other 2 broody's are a sizzles and they are in the b/b/s silkie pen. This spring i'll separate the colors. Ive hatched 23 chicks so far of silkies and sizzles. I'll make a sizzle pen in the spring also.
I have a pair of partriges silkies that I got several chicks from and somehow I ended up with 5 that are lighter in color. If I get at least a pair, i'll make another pen for the light partridges.
I'm leaving for Indiana Thursday morning and i'll be gone for about a month or so, so DH will be tending to all the chickens and brooders and bators. Since he works midnights and it seems he has very little time to do anything, he's gonna be busy. He's just as bad as I am when it comes to the chicken addiction. I was selling and trading eggs to arrive when I get back but he decided he will hatch them instead. Since we keep the young ones inside it's not so hard to tend to them and one of our grandsons comes on the weekends to help out. He usually cleans coops and under the pens. He loves to climb in the larger pens with the chickens for a chat. Yep, he's addicted and he's only 9 years old. He loves the farm life while the oldest grandson prefers the couch. Odd how siblings can be so different.
Anyway, I'll keep in touch with all the BYC'ers while i'm gone. Good luck to everyone on their projects. I know i'm looking forward to seeing the silkies and sizzles when I get back. I have 1 little sizzle that hatched on Christmas that may turn out to look partridge. I named it Noel. The hen is a white sizzle with recessive black and the roo is a black lavender split roo. He's a handsome fella and she is so pretty. I've got 2 blue sizzles named Curley and Moe.
I won't be keping them all. I just want to hatch out all I can now so I can have a larger selection to choose from to put my color pens together. I want at least a trio in each to start with. I'm sure there will be some I just can't part with but i'll have plenty to sell.
I'm so sorry! The poor chick- perhaps you should cull it if it's in too much pain. Building your own incubator is pretty impressive, even if it doesn't have 100% hatch rates. I could never build a 'bator myself. Please don't throw away the eggs- maybe one will come out perfectly!
