is it possible to tell..

[dudefromtampa]

After reading these forums and finding good intel on which incubators were best, I went out and bought one and in the past few days hatched a dozen eggs. The rooster involved was is White Silkie, quite regal I might add. And the hens in question are (2) Columbian Rock hens and (2) White Silkies. The chicks have come out either creamy-yellow or tanish-white in color. Most of the tanish-white chicks have a black mark on their head but 1 or 2 of the creamy yellow chicks also have this mark. Is it possible, at this early a stage, to reasonably guesstimate which chicks are full Silkie and which are Silkie/CR mixed? Reason I ask is because my wife and I have decided to keep the pure Silkies and sell or give away the mixed.

We have also recently purchased some Swedish Flower Hen eggs off of ebay as those are rare in this area (SE Pa) and this breed seems appropriate for this locale.

Sidebar question: When I sweep out the coop, can I add the "waste" which includes hay, dried grass, left-over chicken food, dried corn, etc. as well as chicken poop - to the compost bin?

Thanks for any advice.

Joe

 

[Whittni]

Wrong section, this is for "Online Poultry Shows".


However as for your questions:
It isn't difficult to see whether your chicks are silkies or silkie crosses after they hatch.
Pure silkies will have black skin, 5 toes and stay fluffy.
Usually the mixes will get feathers and you can just tell when their side by side.
As for the adding of all the listed stuff for compost, yep.

 

[dudefromtampa]

Wrong section, this is for "Online Poultry Shows".


However as for your questions:
It isn't difficult to see whether your chicks are silkies or silkie crosses after they hatch.
Pure silkies will have black skin, 5 toes and stay fluffy.
Usually the mixes will get feathers and you can just tell when their side by side.
As for the adding of all the listed stuff for compost, yep.

Yes..I wrote to the administrator after i posted that and asked how to have it moved. My mistake.

Thank you much Whittni for your reply.

Joe