Incubators Anonymous

[justoldbobo2]

I'm tryn to fight off the fever to incubate some more eggs. It is addictive for sure. Does anyone close to central Louisiana have any of the DARK egg layers that they sell eggs. Might try to hold off another month lol. My son and I both enjoy the whole process. The three times we did it over this spring/summer in our homemade bator with barnyard mic eggs have turned out good and gave us something to bond with besides hunting fishing

 

[Faverolling]

Okay, so the one egg is zipping! But no other pips yet... The one hatching was a tad more developed than the others due to a power outage and I know two of the other eggs were still viable before going into lockdown. I'm getting nervous. Is it normal for chicks to pip so far apart? It's been almost a whole 24 hours since the first one pipped. :c

 

[gimmie birdies]

that is fine- sometimes it can take that long- I tell people it does just to get them to not "help" the chick. If it has an air hole it can breathe and will come out when it is ready.

 

[DMRippy]

I am setting up pens for spring hatching.... and NOW LOL. I am putting my 2 wheaten hens with a blue wheaten cockerel. Not sure he knows how to do his job but we can give it a go LOL. I am also going to start hatching from the silkies. Not sure what I will get at this point but I have 2 whites, a partridge and a buff cockerel in with partridge and gray pullets. Mutts I am sure but they should still sell. I am going to get a nice buff hen after the new year so I will sort them out. I might put one white cockerel with the gray and see what I get. Partridge pen is no problem LOL. I need to make some pens for these guys.

I think I can start moving birds out of the grow out pens and MAYBE I can use the grow out pen for BREEDING again LOL. I have a project I am VERY excited to see what I get this year. This will be the 3rd generation with them and I should see some real progress in color.

I have so many ideas running around in my head.....

ANY WHO!!!!!! I am back to setting 120 eggs a week now.... lets see how many make it to lockdown since some fertility issues are still around. Just when I was getting used to hatching less than 30 chicks a week too.....

 

[ki4got]

I am setting up pens for spring hatching.... and NOW LOL. I am putting my 2 wheaten hens with a blue wheaten cockerel. Not sure he knows how to do his job but we can give it a go LOL. I am also going to start hatching from the silkies. Not sure what I will get at this point but I have 2 whites, a partridge and a buff cockerel in with partridge and gray pullets. Mutts I am sure but they should still sell. I am going to get a nice buff hen after the new year so I will sort them out. I might put one white cockerel with the gray and see what I get. Partridge pen is no problem LOL. I need to make some pens for these guys.

I think I can start moving birds out of the grow out pens and MAYBE I can use the grow out pen for BREEDING again LOL. I have a project I am VERY excited to see what I get this year. This will be the 3rd generation with them and I should see some real progress in color.

I have so many ideas running around in my head.....

ANY WHO!!!!!! I am back to setting 120 eggs a week now.... lets see how many make it to lockdown since some fertility issues are still around. Just when I was getting used to hatching less than 30 chicks a week too.....

on the silkies, breeding white to any other variety is a crap shoot... your 'grey' are probably either blue or splash. breed those with blacks for bbs, all other colors are best bred only to the same variety. partridge is on eb, buff is wheaten based, black (blue & splash also) is E and white is who knows what. LOL I've had whites that threw partridge wheaten birchen and extended black. not from the same bird of course, but you never know what assortment's floating under that fluff - of any breed, not just silkies. in my case these were bantam cochins...

 

[DMRippy]

I know white is a crap shoot. That is why I am putting them with the gray/blue not really sure what color it is. Soon I will get them sorted... right now I just want some chicks to sell come spring... or sooner. I don't even know if they are dom white or rec white.... my guess is recessive. A second generation would produce whites if I don't find some before then not really worried about it. I just want SOME silkies to sell I don't need or want every color.

 

[ChickNmamma]

Uh... Normal Silkie black is not based on E... its based on E^R or E^Wh. It will cover split bases, but not as well as E, especially if you loose some of the melanizers that change those bases to the solid black. I have only recently been seeing E based Silkie chicks, they are not common and were probably brought in with Showgirl breedings. Silkie White is recessive White. Silkie Paints are hetero dominant White, it had to be brought in from a different breed to create that. Your Gray may be Silver Partridge/Gray - they are not that rare. Look for patterns on the wings, the Blue/Black have solid color wing feathers, the Gray/Silver Partridge have barring on the wings.

 

[DMRippy]

Uh... Normal Silkie black is not based on E... its based on E^R or E^Wh. It will cover split bases, but not as well as E, especially if you loose some of the melanizers that change those bases to the solid black. I have only recently been seeing E based Silkie chicks, they are not common and were probably brought in with Showgirl breedings. Silkie White is recessive White. Silkie Paints are hetero dominant White, it had to be brought in from a different breed to create that. Your Gray may be Silver Partridge/Gray - they are not that rare. Look for patterns on the wings, the Blue/Black have solid color wing feathers, the Gray/Silver Partridge have barring on the wings.

Is that what makes paint silkies paint??? leakage from the dom white????? I know NOTHING about silkies.....

the gray is solid with not other marking and came from a gray pen so I don't have any doubt about its color. I think the partridge color is kinda all over the place... but the roo looks nice in color and type I think....... did I say I know NOTHING about silkies?????

 

[Faverolling]

I have a newly hatched silkie that has grey spots only on the back of (hopefully) her head. ._. The rest of her is a yellowish white.

 

[ki4got]

I have a newly hatched silkie that has grey spots only on the back of (hopefully) her head. ._. The rest of her is a yellowish white.

LOL your post makes me wonder... are you hopeful that the spots stay only on her head, or are you hoping that's actually the head end that has the spots?

I know some silkies make me wonder which end is which...