Hens hatching eggs in cold weather- anything I need to do??

[silkiechickenkt]

Hi! I have searched through threads and didn't see anything about silkie hens hatching "adopted" eggs in cold weather. They are due to hatch in a couple of days and this is our first time hatching eggs so I want to make sure I'm doing my part right since the hens will be first time moms. It's fairly cold here right now (40 high, 15-20 low) and I was wondering if I need to do anything for the babies when they hatch and until they are big enough to go back to the chicken yard. I currently have them (2 hens nesting together on 7 assorted adopted eggs) in a building outside my house. It's a room above my canning cellar and is not heated but is closed in like a normal room. I turn the heat lamp on about 5 feet above their area at night since they had been inside my house which is quite a bit warmer than their new apartment. They somehow got mites last week and had to be moved outside. I got rid of the mites inside, outside, on them and on me luckily.

Any help is much appreciated!!!

 

[Judy]

I would continue to do what you are doing for the moms, since they are accustomed to it. They will take care of their chicks just fine on their own.

Silkies seem to be particularly prone to mites for some reason. Don't forget that even though you can kill the mites with Sevin or Pyrethrin/permethrin, neither will kill the eggs, which will hatch in about 10 days, so you'll have to treat everything again.

 

[silkiechickenkt]

Yes I've been treating and retreating the chickens, the room, the indoor room in my house, my bedroom, me, etc. ugh. Is DE food grade safe to have around the babies? I don't want to sweep up any dust in the since I figure its helping to keep the mites away. Thanks