First time incubating silkie eggs

[Reeceparkeyboii]

Hi guys just bought my own incubator to be delivered tomorrow alot of great reviews of great hatch rate from it. I am attempting to hatch my own silkie eggs. I am a first timer and so any advice would be great. I have the eggs still in there nesting box and there is around 8 eggs thanks

 

[GodLovesU]

@Debbie292d can help you a lot with this.

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi guys just bought my own incubator to be delivered tomorrow alot of great reviews of great hatch rate from it. I am attempting to hatch my own silkie eggs. I am a first timer and so any advice would be great. I have the eggs still in there nesting box and there is around 8 eggs thanks

Hi!

I have hatched several hundred silkies. I do them like most chicken eggs are incubated, with the exception of a 5 day lockdown instead of 3.

I have four incubators and only one is correct. I would urge you to get a hygrometer/thermometer and double-check what it says. I buy mostly Govee brand on Amazon. Some are Bluetooth or WiFi so you can get the app on your phone to check them anywhere.

Fire up your incubator about 24 hours before you put eggs in it. That way it’s solidly set and you can determine if there are any issues. If it has auto turn just set that to several times a day.

Since yours are in a nest, you can put them directly into the incubator once it’s ready.

Temp: 99.5F
Humidity: 40-45% until lockdown

At lockdown, shut the turner off and up the humidity to 65-70%.

Candling. I only candle them at 6-7 days, and again at lockdown. I do not open the incubator after lockdown until it appears every egg has hatched, or I can’t see pipping on any that haven’t hatched.

I do a longer lockdown as I’ve had a couple of silkies start hatching on day 18. The last week of rotating eggs is least important as they’re now big enough to move around themselves and won’t get stuck.

I wish you a great hatch and warn you that once you start, it becomes highly addictive.

If you have any questions, just ask!

 

[Reeceparkeyboii]

Hi!

I have hatched several hundred silkies. I do them like most chicken eggs are incubated, with the exception of a 5 day lockdown instead of 3.

I have four incubators and only one is correct. I would urge you to get a hygrometer/thermometer and double-check what it says. I buy mostly Govee brand on Amazon. Some are Bluetooth or WiFi so you can get the app on your phone to check them anywhere.

Fire up your incubator about 24 hours before you put eggs in it. That way it’s solidly set and you can determine if there are any issues. If it has auto turn just set that to several times a day.

Since yours are in a nest, you can put them directly into the incubator once it’s ready.

Temp: 99.5F
Humidity: 40-45% until lockdown

At lockdown, shut the turner off and up the humidity to 65-70%.

Candling. I only candle them at 6-7 days, and again at lockdown. I do not open the incubator after lockdown until it appears every egg has hatched, or I can’t see pipping on any that haven’t hatched.

I do a longer lockdown as I’ve had a couple of silkies start hatching on day 18. The last week of rotating eggs is least important as they’re now big enough to move around themselves and won’t get stuck.

I wish you a great hatch and warn you that once you start, it become highly addictive.

If you have any questions, just ask!

Awh debbie thankyou so much it has really put my mind to ease that u have given me so much helpful advice i cant thank you enough

 

[Debbie292d]

Awh debbie thankyou so much it has really put my mind to ease that u have given me so much helpful advice i cant thank you enough

You are very welcome! I am glad @GodLovesU tagged me so I wouldn’t miss your post!

You’re going to do great! I hope you’ll show us pictures when they hatch!

 

[Reeceparkeyboii]

8 eggs in total going in today. With all the advice from you wish me luck

 

[Reeceparkeyboii]

You are very welcome! I am glad @GodLovesU tagged me so I wouldn’t miss your post!

You’re going to do great! I hope you’ll show us pictures when they hatch!

Debbie is have just popped them into the incubator temp 99.5 and humidity is hard to control on this incubator its sitting at 59 i hope this wont harm them

 

[Reeceparkeyboii]

Debbie is have just popped them into the incubator temp 99.5 and humidity is hard to control on this incubator its sitting at 59 i hope this wont harm them

 

[Debbie292d]

Debbie is have just popped them into the incubator temp 99.5 and humidity is hard to control on this incubator its sitting at 59 i hope this wont harm them

It okay. Try let it drift down a bit though. You wouldn't want them at that the whole time, until lockdown, but for a few hours or a day it'll be okay.

At least now you know you can raise the humidity up there when the time comes. I've seen some have incubators that made lockdown pretty frustrating.

 

[Reeceparkeyboii]

It okay. Try let it drift down a bit though. You wouldn't want them at that the whole time, until lockdown, but for a few hours or a day it'll be okay.

At least now you know you can raise the humidity up there when the time comes. I've seen some have incubators that made lockdown pretty frustrating.

Debbie im starting to panic my hydrometer reader just came i have popped it into the incubator but i think the incubator has been giving me false readings. The incubator is showing a steady temp of 37.5•C but the hydrometer is showing 35.2 maybe i just havent left the hydrometer in long enough for it to read properly its coming on to day 3 of incubation im so scared ive maybe harmed my little eggs