Need an opinion!

[PippinTheChicken]

I bought 6 partridge silkie eggs on eBay. On day 21, two eggs hatched and one pipped. The next day, the pipped egg stopped zipping for hours and needed some extra help. He survived. We left the incubator with the 3 unhatched eggs for another week. After that we candled, fertile but nearly fully developed so we left it another few days. Then the water test- we realised they weren't alive so we gave up. We were to scared and upset to open them up so we buried them. What do you think happened to the 3 eggs? Is a 50% hatch rate good for our first time? We are 100% sure we did everything right and only took them out to weigh and candle 3 times.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

It’s hard to say just what happened I think there’s a lot of things that could have gone wrong. It’s also possible that it’s do to the eggs being shipped.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You never know how any incubation will go, even if you collect and hatch fertile eggs yourself from your own flock, even if you do everything right. It doesn't matter if it was your first time or 50th, some hatches just go better than others. It doesn't matter if you use an incubator or a broody hen. Some hatches go better than others.

When you buy eggs and they are mailed you don't have control over many things. When was the egg laid before it was mailed and how was it stored before it was mailed. How was it packed? Then how long was it in shipment and what conditions did it see while being shipped. Extreme heat or cold? Maybe it was really shaken while being shipped.

One time I got 30 eggs from a breeder that lived a few miles away. 10 hatched. That was my fault, I did not cushion them enough on the rough drive over dirt roads, the shaking caused many to not hatch. One time I incubated 5 mailed turkey eggs and only one hatched. The next year I got 5 turkey eggs from the same person and they all hatched. You never know with any incubation but mailed eggs are really a question mark.

You will read on here that you can expect a 50% hatch rate with shipped eggs. On average that's about what I had when you combine the two hatches. But neither individual hatch was close to 50%.

 

[PippinTheChicken]

When you buy eggs and they are mailed you don't have control over many things. When was the egg laid before it was mailed and how was it stored before it was mailed. How was it packed? Then how long was it in shipment and what conditions did it see while being shipped. Extreme heat or cold? Maybe it was really shaken while being shipped.

They were packed in a polestirine egg box. None were dirty or cracked. It took around 2 days to arrive. Thats all I know about it.
Thanks for replying... I guess it's just a matter of luck

 

[PippinTheChicken]

I love my 3 babies! They are just perfect; I actually wasn't expecting little blue (the helped one) to survive, and I am so grateful that he did! I was amazed that 50% actually hatched.
They will be 4 weeks old tomorrow!

Aren't they adorable?!

 

[my21chickens]

OMG THEY ARE SUCH LITTLE CUTIES!!!!!!!!! and the same happened to me and they came from my chickens! i did 2 batches of eggs both had 9 eggs in them the first one 5 hatched (we had to help one of them though) the 2 time only 4 hatched. the only advice i can give is if the others have hatch it is a good idea to try to help them

 

[PippinTheChicken]

OMG THEY ARE SUCH LITTLE CUTIES!!!!!!!!! and the same happened to me and they came from my chickens! i did 2 batches of eggs both had 9 eggs in them the first one 5 hatched (we had to help one of them though) the 2 time only 4 hatched. the only advice i can give is if the others have hatch it is a good idea to try to help them

They are really cuddly too! One of the chicks, Kiwi, loves to jump onto my arm whenever she gets a chance (which is quite funny and annoying sometimes if I'm trying to do something!) Or roll around (on her back) while she is on my lap while I give her belly rubs! They will all go onto my lap together and we'd have a big group hug.

 

[PippinTheChicken]

I would never expect them to have such strong personalities at such a young age- even at a few days old, I knew everything about them... Pickles (oldest chick) is playful and hilarious. He loves to protect the other chicks and explore- he enjoys hugs and playing on the chick swing.
Kiwi is sweet and cuddly. She loves to jump onto arms and legs and take a nap. She's always up for kisses and cuddles.
Blue is a shy chick. He is scared easily since he used to be so weak and have lots of leg problems (splayed leg, curled toe) we had to handle him alot to help him. He fixed himself... I am gaining his trust each day