Need help with diagnosing Silkie issue

[Little Coop on Salt Creek]

Hi all,

I'm hoping someone with more breeding knowledge than myself can help me. We recently set eggs in our new incubator. Had a 69% hatch rate which we felt was good. We had Silkies set in that batch and out of the 10 that hatched out and were sold 4 of them seemed to up and die on their new owners right at 3 weeks of age. Our flock of Silkies (Silkies and Satins) is comprised of 9 Silkie ladies, 1 Silkie/EE mix lady and 2 Silkie roos. Everyone seems very healthy and poops look really good as well. Could a high temperature time period in the incubator have caused babies to have abnormalities that would cause post hatching death? I'm scratching my head on this one. We personally haven't experienced mass death out of our hatched stock before, so this has really gotten me upset. Anyone with Silkie breeding experience would be greatly appreciated right now. Thank you in advance!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

3 week old deaths... most likely cause in my experience is coccidiosis and ZERO to do with the breeding.

Post hatching deaths... not at 3 weeks old.

Other possibility... feed issues or blocked crop type stuff.

NOT because of you.

 

[Little Coop on Salt Creek]

3 week old deaths... most likely cause in my experience is coccidiosis and ZERO to do with the breeding.

Post hatching deaths... not at 3 weeks old.

Other possibility... feed issues or blocked crop type stuff.

NOT because of you.

So the fact that 2 people in completely different locations had 2 deaths in a span of a few days, in the same way, doesn’t point back to me? If that is right, that makes me feel a little better..

 

[EggSighted4Life]

So the fact that 2 people in completely different locations had 2 deaths in a span of a few days, in the same way, doesn’t point back to me? If that is right, that makes me feel a little better..

No, IMO... after hatching and raising hundreds of them, it doesn't.

How long since the chicks left your place? Unseen abnormalities that do cause failure are usually shortly after the 3 day mark when the yolk has been absorbed and chick are relying on their own intake and digestion. Sometimes using Poultry Nutri Drench in the water extends this period to about a week.

As usual... proud to have (and meet) another BYC member who pays attention and does everything they can to get it right on their part!

 

[Little Coop on Salt Creek]

They went to their new homes between 48-72 hours old. Good to know about the Nutri-drench as I use it and have had that scenario personally happen.

I just couldn’t figure it out and every-time I got close to thinking I might know what went wrong, it just didn’t add up. People can be harsh when they see an easy target to put the blame on. I do want to be hatching and selling good quality as that is what I would want to purchase. Thank you for the compliment, I really took this personally!

 

[Little Coop on Salt Creek]

@EggSighted4Life At what age do you usually let babies go to new homes? I had been wondering if I shouldn’t keep for the first week and then let them go. People can be super diligent about wanting “day olds” though..