Debbie's Silkies

[Debbie292d]

The silkies are ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE!! I am getting fertile silkie eggs this week and I am excited to see them! I have a few questions.

#1. What is the best humidity to keep the incubator at before and after lockdown?
#2. Why do you put the incubator on lockdown for 5 days instead of 3?
#3. What is your favorite color silkie?

Thank you for your time.

1: 40-45% until lockdown, then 65-70%

2: I have had silkies start hatching on day 18 on more than one occasion, so I do 5-day lockdowns. Since they aren't turned during lockdown, just know that the last week of rotating eggs isn't so necessary anyway, as they are large enough by then and active, so they won't get stuck.

3: I can't pick by color as I love them all. I have buffs, cuckoos, and paints, that are newer here, but the chocolates and splashes and even the blacks and whites still are so beautiful.

My favorite chicken though is CC. He's sadly in a breeding pen now, but would come running when I called him. He's just too beautiful not to breed, so he's with Marsha, another splash, kind of mauvish.

I have another new venture with grey partridge moorhead silkies as I hatched one from purchased eggs. I have Missie (formerly Mystery as I had no idea what she was going to be) with a white silkie roo now hoping to get a grey/silver partridge rooster at least, and if lucky, another like her.

 

[SilkieMom0406]

Thank you so much for the information! I appreciate it dearly and wish you well!

 

[Debbie292d]

Thank you so much for the information! I appreciate it dearly and wish you well!

You are so welcome. Best wishes for a great hatch!!

One more thing...in case you weren't aware, silkies can suffer from vitamin deficiencies easier than other chickens, so I'd get a bottle of Nutra Cell, and if you can, a bottle of Nutra Drench. The Nutra Cell is a bit more complete, but the Nutra Drench is fast-acting if you have a sick chick.

After a couple days old, I give them one day of water with Poultry Cell in it. That's just a little boost so I know if any were lacking, they got what they needed.

All of the chickens get the same feed, Kalmbachs Flock Maker crumbles, and that's got Rooster Booster at half dosage mixed in too. That may be overkill, but these free range so I know they're not getting the full benefit they would if all they ate was their feed, so this way I'm making sure they're getting plenty of vitamins/minerals. This I believe is why we've had very minimal issues ever.

 

[SilkieMom0406]

You are so welcome. Best wishes for a great hatch!!

One more thing...in case you weren't aware, silkies can suffer from vitamin deficiencies easier than other chickens, so I'd get a bottle of Nutra Cell, and if you can, a bottle of Nutra Drench. The Nutra Cell is a bit more complete, but the Nutra Drench is fast-acting if you have a sick chick.

After a couple days old, I give them one day of water with Poultry Cell in it. That's just a little boost so I know if any were lacking, they got what they needed.

All of the chickens get the same feed, Kalmbachs Flock Maker crumbles, and that's got Rooster Booster at half dosage mixed in too. That may be overkill, but these free range so I know they're not getting the full benefit they would if all they ate was their feed, so this way I'm making sure they're getting plenty of vitamins/minerals. This I believe is why we've had very minimal issues ever.

Thank you so much! this is very helpful! I appreciate it.

 

[Debbie292d]

Just putting some updates here as it's been a while.

We started incubating toward the end of January, and it's been non-stop ever since, increasing with # of eggs and # of customers wanting chicks.

I was hatching a batch of 15-24 eggs every 7-8 days. The last batch was larger and still behind by two to three hatches to fullfill orders. Some new customers and repeat customers are waiting and I was hating that.

Thus, brought up an old Brinsea from the basement. Now I could set a batch every 4-5 days and fullfill orders faster. I say "could" because I haven't experienced it yet having just set a batch yesterday due 4 days after a different batch is due.

I've never cut it this close but there's no reason not to; chicks hatch in one or two days, out the next, clean, and move over the next batch for lockdown. Should there ever be an issue with late hatches, etc., we have an NR360 in the basement we could use.

This could become overwhelming so if it does, I'll back off the days between setting eggs again, but at least I think I'll get caught up on orders first.

People have driven as far as 4 hours last fall, a few 3 hours, many 2 hours and the usual is between 1-2 hours from here. When I chose to raise silkies 8+ years ago, little did I know I would be one of very few who do.

Below is the smaller hatch from last night, all sold to someone coming very early tomorrow from an hour away. We're getting rain and a lot of snow later so she wants to be back home before it hits.

These are mostly cuckoo, mauve, splashes and two silver/grey. I think the silvers are coming from when Carol, the buff cuckoo was with Buddy, the regular cuckoo. When a buff isn't with a buff, it's a surprise what you'll get.

Paints and buffs will be coming in these batches shortly!

 

[Debbie292d]

The long awaited arrivals from Bobbi Porto in Florida:

I was needing a regular cuckoo hen and a blue rooster to replace Blueboy who died last summer. I had purchased eggs from Bobbi before, but crappy hatch rates from shipped eggs was making this very expensive, so I chose to just buy the chickens I need and forget the eggs. Several months ago, I ordered four chickens. Yesterday, she shipped them. Today, we drove to the Green Bay post office (50 minutes) to pick them up.

I was so excited. Still am! So were the postal workers as we opened one box inside. They said they're used to the "birds in boxes" usually being racing pigeons.

This is a lemon cuckoo rooster.


Here he is with the blue hen also shipped with him. She had laid an egg in the box. It's sort of a weird looking egg so thinking it's one of her first.

Her egg is the on the left. The one on the right is one of Sue's (farmer across the road) layers. The other three are from ours.

Pretty weird thinking I was buying 2-3 mo. old chicks, and due to weather, couldn't have them shipped for months, until they were breeding and laying eggs.


Here's the other two, a broody cuckoo hen (the one I really wanted, and wouldn't you know, she's broody) and the younger blue cockerel. These are all so sweet!

How she shipped them was in these fancy bio boxes, two per box. All four chickens were in perfect condition. She does this all the time, but this was my first time having chickens shipped to me instead of eggs.

 

[2ndTink]

The long awaited arrivals from Bobbi Porto in Florida:

I was needing a regular cuckoo hen and a blue rooster to replace Blueboy who died last summer. I had purchased eggs from Bobbi before, but crappy hatch rates from shipped eggs was making this very expensive, so I chose to just buy the chickens I need and forget the eggs. Several months ago, I ordered four chickens. Yesterday, she shipped them. Today, we drove to the Green Bay post office (50 minutes) to pick them up.

I was so excited. Still am! So were the postal workers as we opened one box inside. They said they're used to the "birds in boxes" usually being racing pigeons.

This is a lemon cuckoo rooster.
View attachment 4076098

Here he is with the blue hen also shipped with him. She had laid an egg in the box. It's sort of a weird looking egg so thinking it's one of her first.
View attachment 4076099


Her egg is the on the left. The one on the right is one of Sue's (farmer across the road) layers. The other three are from ours.

Pretty weird thinking I was buying 2-3 mo. old chicks, and due to weather, couldn't have them shipped for months, until they were breeding and laying eggs.
View attachment 4076100

Here's the other two, a broody cuckoo hen (the one I really wanted, and wouldn't you know, she's broody) and the younger blue cockerel. These are all so sweet!

View attachment 4076101

How she shipped them was in these fancy bio boxes, two per box. All four chickens were in perfect condition. She does this all the time, but this was my first time having chickens shipped to me instead of eggs.
View attachment 4076102

oh my goodness, they're beautiful! I'm so excited to see them finally!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Slothinc]

Oh Debbie they are gorgeous!!!! Both the chicks you have been hatching AND the awesome chickens from Bobbi!!! Your lemon cuckoo boy reminds me of my lemon cuckoo girl that I hatched from Bobbi

 

[TwoCrows]

The long awaited arrivals from Bobbi Porto in Florida:

I was needing a regular cuckoo hen and a blue rooster to replace Blueboy who died last summer. I had purchased eggs from Bobbi before, but crappy hatch rates from shipped eggs was making this very expensive, so I chose to just buy the chickens I need and forget the eggs. Several months ago, I ordered four chickens. Yesterday, she shipped them. Today, we drove to the Green Bay post office (50 minutes) to pick them up.

I was so excited. Still am! So were the postal workers as we opened one box inside. They said they're used to the "birds in boxes" usually being racing pigeons.

This is a lemon cuckoo rooster.
View attachment 4076098

Here he is with the blue hen also shipped with him. She had laid an egg in the box. It's sort of a weird looking egg so thinking it's one of her first.
View attachment 4076099


Her egg is the on the left. The one on the right is one of Sue's (farmer across the road) layers. The other three are from ours.

Pretty weird thinking I was buying 2-3 mo. old chicks, and due to weather, couldn't have them shipped for months, until they were breeding and laying eggs.
View attachment 4076100

Here's the other two, a broody cuckoo hen (the one I really wanted, and wouldn't you know, she's broody) and the younger blue cockerel. These are all so sweet!

View attachment 4076101

How she shipped them was in these fancy bio boxes, two per box. All four chickens were in perfect condition. She does this all the time, but this was my first time having chickens shipped to me instead of eggs.
View attachment 4076102

Oh my gosh, shipping adult chickens... I've never heard of that! They look gorgeous Debbie, I glad they made it safely, VERY pretty birds!!

 

[Ponypoor]

The long awaited arrivals from Bobbi Porto in Florida:

I was needing a regular cuckoo hen and a blue rooster to replace Blueboy who died last summer. I had purchased eggs from Bobbi before, but crappy hatch rates from shipped eggs was making this very expensive, so I chose to just buy the chickens I need and forget the eggs. Several months ago, I ordered four chickens. Yesterday, she shipped them. Today, we drove to the Green Bay post office (50 minutes) to pick them up.

I was so excited. Still am! So were the postal workers as we opened one box inside. They said they're used to the "birds in boxes" usually being racing pigeons.

This is a lemon cuckoo rooster.
View attachment 4076098

Here he is with the blue hen also shipped with him. She had laid an egg in the box. It's sort of a weird looking egg so thinking it's one of her first.
View attachment 4076099


Her egg is the on the left. The one on the right is one of Sue's (farmer across the road) layers. The other three are from ours.

Pretty weird thinking I was buying 2-3 mo. old chicks, and due to weather, couldn't have them shipped for months, until they were breeding and laying eggs.
View attachment 4076100

Here's the other two, a broody cuckoo hen (the one I really wanted, and wouldn't you know, she's broody) and the younger blue cockerel. These are all so sweet!

View attachment 4076101

How she shipped them was in these fancy bio boxes, two per box. All four chickens were in perfect condition. She does this all the time, but this was my first time having chickens shipped to me instead of eggs.
View attachment 4076102

Wow they are adorable! Love them!

Did she ship them expedited? I mean overnight?

Gosh they are lovely