Okay, we had 6 that had stopped fairly early. 3 eggs were pretty far along. 4 eggs had fully developed chicks. 1 we got a little blood and movement, so we stopped, wrapped in a warm wet washcloth and put it back in the incubator. I think it's dead now, but we're leaving it until tomorrow.
With the 2 of us it didn't really take all that long. So I was able to head to the feed store pretty early. Good thing because when I got there after my 90 minute drive, well it turns out the mess of silkies they had were about 2-3 week old BRs.
So they called around and found some for me at another store. "Now you're sure they're silkies? Black beak, black feet, feathered legs, 5 toes?" Yes they were sure. I set out again with my directions for what I thought was about a 10 minute drive. Nope, it was an hour away. Got there 3 minutes to closing. And their silkies, well I'm pretty sure they're bantams, but not silkies.
When the kids get to school in the AM they will quickly forget about the dead chicks in the bator and zero in on the 4 fuzzybutts in the brooder. Baby pics will follow and all will swear it was the best day ever.
I'll now have 2 wks of peace until they come home. Then I've got to figure out what exactly they are and find homes for them. Any guesses? All feather footed bantams, yellow legs, 4 toes. 2 black with black beaks. 1 white with yellow beak. 1 partridge/pattern, yellow beak.
Then of course I've got to start making plans to get more eggs and try again. Someday we will have super poofy silkies.
