Is it just me? * Pics added *

[mrslb333]

After having a few bad experiences hatching silkie eggs from Ebay which included 3 silkie/orpington crosses, an exchequer leghorn? and a guinea fowl??????

. I decided to try my luck 1 last time this was to be last hatch of the year, which turned out to be more important than was expected as I lost all my young silkies, seramas and ducklings in an unexpected snowstorm which cut all the power to my heated shed and brooder lamps.

3 went into lockdown, this morning I found a little baby had hatched excitedly we waited until the other 2 were out before opening the incubator

The first one a little silvery blue one absolutely perfect, the second not so perfect it's yellowy white and has pinkish skin and toes which I'm not sure if that would make it a cross or if they can have pinkish skin the other odd thing is it has 6 toes on each foot??
Number 3 again yellowy white pinkish skin, 6 toes again and only 1 eye

I'm pretty sure it's not down to the incubation as I've hatched around 200 other breeds of chicken in it this year which were all fine but with the silkie its been one disaster after another

 

[PolloAdoro]

 

[Muggsmagee]

I have found the silkie crosses can throw off a bit of "mis-wiring"...I have 2 white silkie x welsummer pullets...one with 4 and 5 toes, the other has 5 and 6 toes....both with pink skin. The one-eyed chick you have is a bit bizarre and I have never heard of that being the cause of a faulty bator. Are your chicks from the same silkie parent or line of silkies? I would consider using a different parentage if that is the case.

These are my silkie/welsummers...

 

[CallyB57]

Awww...sorry about your Silkie breeding.

I have right now 3 Silkie eggs in my little incubator and I hope they hatch. One of them was rolled around in the hen house for 4 days until I got my incubator, but the other 2 were fresh out of the Silkies when I put them in the 'bator. I have a buff rooster, Golden Boy, who services 2 little hens, one a buff hen and the other, a black hen. Don't care what they look like, just want some more of those sweet little Silkies. They are my favorite of all chickens.

 

[thebirdguy]

a Guinea???

Makes you wonder about the poor guy that was expecting a keet to hatch and ended up with a little frizzle ball of fluff...

I don't know of any breeds that normally have six toes but I have heard of silkies occassionally having six.. You'll have to let us know in a coupld of months how they turn out..

 

[tallyho]

It's not just you. I too was wondering about my silkie eggs. I put 14 cochin and 10 silkies in the incubator (shipped eggs). At day 18 I was down to 9 cochins and 5 silkies. Hatched 9 cochins and 3 silkies. Respectable statistics at a 30% hatch rate but they worked so hard and took so long to hatch I wasn't sure any would make it. One never pipped and one pipped and started to zip but never made it out. By the time I checked in the morning it was DIS (dead in shell), less than 24 hours from pipping. The cochins got right down to business and were very quick hatchers, no problems, even the one with a bad foot. Had that one been a silkie I'm thinking there's no way it would have made it. I wonder if they just aren't as vigorous in general as other chickens? And we love, love, love silkies!

 

[mrslb333]

These are pics of them the two white ones are having a bit of a rough time I don't expect the one with one eye to make it the eye it does have doesn't seem to open properly and it's face looks deformed and it's not making much effort to move, but I'm going to leave it till tomorrow to see how it does. If it doesn't perk up I may have to cull

This is the healthy one.

Six toes!

Poor little thing

 

[roocrazy]

say a prayer and let god help you take good care of that little guy porr thing

 

[howeser]

I noticed my new silkie chick is way behind his brahma hatch mates... the little guy is perfect but still can't seem to figure how to keep his feet under him and I had to help him out of his shell even. Not sure what I would do if I were in your spot but I would probably see if it could handle life as it is.

 

[iluvsedward]

it looks like two eyes are on one side, poor little thing(s)