Incubating Silkie eggs questions???

[silkymom1986]

Hi, I just ordered 2 dozen silkie eggs online, I should have them around the 17th. I have a few questions I am hoping to get some answers to so I am completely prepared when they get here.

1. This is my first time getting shipped eggs, am I suppose to let them sit for a certain amount of time when I get them before putting them in the bator?

2. Once I put them in the bator, do I turn the turner on immediately or am I suppose to wait?

3. I heard somewhere to order a quail egg rack for my bator for the silkie eggs because they are smaller, but the quail rack looks too small, will this work or is there something else out there better?

That's all I can think of right now, but I'm sure I'll come up with more, lol.

 

[dwegg]

my silkies are hatching as I type this...yes they are smaller eggs but not that small..I set mine in the regular egg turner and they were fine.

I let my shipped eggs sit for a day or at least over night outside of the bator. Then i just put them in the bator which I have had on and warmed up....

This is the first time I put them in egg cartons to hatch and they are doing well so far...

 

[silkymom1986]

AWE!!!! So cute congrats on your new babies!!! Thanks for the info, my husband told me I needed a smaller rack, but obviously he was wrong, lol. What kind of egg carton did you use to hatch them in? I can't quite tell from the pics. Please post some more pics when they all hatch, I am so excited!!

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Quote:
This is what I do when I get shipped eggs.

I let them come to room temp (if getting eggs in the summer and the eggs are already warm when I unpack them, they go straight in the incubator). Once they are room temp, I put them in the incubator, but keep the turner off the first 2-3 days, after that I plug the turner back in. The quail rack is way to small for silkie eggs. The regular chicken egg rack should work just fine, I use it without any problems.

I do dry incubation, humidity stays around 30% or less. I mist down a couple times during incubation with either Oxine or Brinsea Incubation Disinfectant. Day 18 I move them over into another incubator to hatch. If its a forced air I keep humidity up around 70% or so, still air humidity stays around 65%. I hatch them out in cartons. Makes clean up easier and the unhatched chicks don't get banged around by already hatched chicks.


Good Luck!!!

 

[Bat Cave Silkies]

If the eggs were shipped, I DO NOT turn them for the first 3 days that they are in the incubator....if the air cell was detached during shipping, this gives them the opportunity to reattach.

Regular size turners work for me too.

I also hatch in cartons that I have trimmed down (on the sides) and cut a whole in the bottom of each "cup" (to allow air and humidity to circulate)

Best of luck

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Quote:
I do the same to the cartons, trim them down and put a hole in the bottom of each of the cups.

 

[silkymom1986]

Thanks so much everyone for clearing these things up for me. I really hope to have a good hatch, and any other advise is welcomed!! Everyone has said they use egg carton to hatch in, does it matter if it's cardboard or styrophome?

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Quote:
I use the paper/cardboard cartons. I don't know if it's true, but I feel like the paper cartons will breathe better.

 

[silkymom1986]

Quote:
I use the paper/cardboard cartons. I don't know if it's true, but I feel like the paper cartons will breathe better.

That's what I was thinking too.

 

[leadwolf1]

Wow, thanks for posting this thread...I hope you don't mind if I add another silkie hatching ?

What do you do if the humidity in your house is at 55%? I can't get the incubator down lower if all around the humidity is high. Will this effect the hatch?

Thanks for all the hints/tips, I will be cutting down and using an egg carton to hatch! And misting with Oxine? I would never have thought of that...great ideas!!!