hello, my silkie just started laying about a week ago and they ARE fertile... i was just wondering why you can't incubate the eggs because i have to get rid of my rooster and i want some hens from the two of them!!
I have hatched Serama eggs and Silkie eggs that were the very first eggs they laid. The Seramas were hatched by a broody hen but the Silkies were hatched in my homemade incubator and there were no problems with either one of them. Almost forgot, I also hatched Black Australop eggs that were also the very first eggs and problems with them either. Just like you I wanted some chicks after I got rid of the roo.
There is no reason you can't hatch them, so long as the pullet had no problems. First eggs are likely to have blood spots or other difficulties in them since the chicken's system is just getting started laying. Just like making pie crust from scratch, laying an egg takes a few times to get it just right.
sounds great to me! lol ..... i have cracked open all the pullet eggs for about a week now and there is NO blood spots or any abnormalities i guess shes a natural haha
Every one I've hatched has had problems. None lived past 2 months. I wont do it again, but there are plenty of people who have hatched them without problems. I'm guessing it's just a crap shoot. If you can hold off, I would....but if you need to do it now might as well try it.
Quote:Could you tell about your homemade incubator? Did you buy plans? How how many eggs does it hold? Could a teenage son build one? Thanks! ''
I 'set' the first 6 eggs one of my blue copper marans pullets laid. Five of them hatched. They were small for marans egg too but the babies weren't all that much smaller than the chicks in the regular sized eggs I was incubating at the same time. The ones born from pullet eggs caught right up in size to the larger chicks. I knew they were probably fertile because the roo had been mating the pullets for the last month or so before they started to lay.
