Here's how the insanity started and continues..... My neighbor decided to raise chickens for eggs. He purchased several red chicks. My daughter and his kids play with those crazy red chickens endlessly. Carry them around, named certain ones. My neighbor decided he wanted to purchase some sebright bantam chicks. So while perusing the bantams I came across the silkies. The girls decided they HAD to have a silkie!
So for their birthdays I decided to hatch silkie eggs and each girl would be able to have a silkie for their birthday. (And maybe the boy too.. we'll see depends on my hatching success rate.) So while perusing ebay looking for silkie eggs to purchase and hatch Momma sees the showgirls. Momma wants!!!! So while I have the incubator going I purchased 12 showgirl/silkie eggs from Jaime McCallum to hatch. Hopefully I'll get a showgirl out of the mix.
So here I am with an incubator filled with 9 white silkie eggs from Cj's Silkies, 9 mixed white/splash silkie eggs from another person, and awaiting the 12 eggs from McCallum this week to go in there. I was considering purchasing another group of showgirl eggs just so everything hatched at once and was the same age. Also, I didn't want to inbreed. I want to keep all unrelated chicks in my pen. I am not anticipating a huge hatch rate since these eggs have gone through the mail.
I am hoping I get at least 4-5 silkies to hatch, and a showgirl or two for Momma! I was planning on keeping our small group of 3-4 showgirl/silkies in a chicken tractor in the backyard. We'll see how that goes.
I borrowed the neighbor's still air incubator, and it looks like I will end up purchasing another for hatching (due to all the eggs involved). I can never do anything on a small scale. It's a sickness.
I gave the neighbor a 35g aquarium for his chicks, which are all out in the house or the horse trailer now LOL! So the aquarium is empty and ready for new chicks, so we're ready to go there. The neighbor, from whom I borrowed the incubator, would like probably as many extra chicks as I have left, but I also have another friend who would probably enjoy some. There is also always craigslist. So no worries if I am overrun (which I don't really anticipate).
I am a classically trained plant breeder. I used to do tomato research but was chronically ill for the last 7 years. Finally got a diagnosis, got well, and now it's full scale craziness apparently. Probably tmi for everyone.. but there it is.
So this is where I am at now.. 18 eggs in the bator to hatch May 21-22, waiting for 12 showgirl/silkie eggs to arrive this week. Anticipating buying another batch from someone else....
Wish me luck!
Terri
So for their birthdays I decided to hatch silkie eggs and each girl would be able to have a silkie for their birthday. (And maybe the boy too.. we'll see depends on my hatching success rate.) So while perusing ebay looking for silkie eggs to purchase and hatch Momma sees the showgirls. Momma wants!!!! So while I have the incubator going I purchased 12 showgirl/silkie eggs from Jaime McCallum to hatch. Hopefully I'll get a showgirl out of the mix.
So here I am with an incubator filled with 9 white silkie eggs from Cj's Silkies, 9 mixed white/splash silkie eggs from another person, and awaiting the 12 eggs from McCallum this week to go in there. I was considering purchasing another group of showgirl eggs just so everything hatched at once and was the same age. Also, I didn't want to inbreed. I want to keep all unrelated chicks in my pen. I am not anticipating a huge hatch rate since these eggs have gone through the mail.
I am hoping I get at least 4-5 silkies to hatch, and a showgirl or two for Momma! I was planning on keeping our small group of 3-4 showgirl/silkies in a chicken tractor in the backyard. We'll see how that goes.
I borrowed the neighbor's still air incubator, and it looks like I will end up purchasing another for hatching (due to all the eggs involved). I can never do anything on a small scale. It's a sickness.
I gave the neighbor a 35g aquarium for his chicks, which are all out in the house or the horse trailer now LOL! So the aquarium is empty and ready for new chicks, so we're ready to go there. The neighbor, from whom I borrowed the incubator, would like probably as many extra chicks as I have left, but I also have another friend who would probably enjoy some. There is also always craigslist. So no worries if I am overrun (which I don't really anticipate).
I am a classically trained plant breeder. I used to do tomato research but was chronically ill for the last 7 years. Finally got a diagnosis, got well, and now it's full scale craziness apparently. Probably tmi for everyone.. but there it is.
So this is where I am at now.. 18 eggs in the bator to hatch May 21-22, waiting for 12 showgirl/silkie eggs to arrive this week. Anticipating buying another batch from someone else....
Wish me luck!
Terri
Last edited:
