Possible hatchlings?? Help! Advice?!

[Chicken poppy]

You’re not being confusing at all! The info is super helpful, especially the lock down period!
My dumb self would have been candling them until they hatched!

since I don’t know when exactly day 17 will be, I only dated 1 egg , 9/21, I’ll just stop candling on Oct 2nd. And as luck would have it, the one I dated is the one that I don’t think is viable…

all the eggs were laid when in 1-2 days on either side of the 9/21 egg…

Okay good and i almost did that my first time candling to! It doesnt have to be exact, in fact 18 is the actual lockdown period. But i find 18 can be pushing it, candeling is helpful *mostly during incubation and not broody hens* because you want to get the rotten ones out ASAP. these will litterally explode in the incubator contaminating the other eggs! The first day you should see no activity, just blank. The next you should see little veins. But some are a bit later then others (very importantl some egg shells are much thicker then others, and harder to see, so if you see nothing it could still be active!) after that youll see a little ball in the center grow much bigger, and soon become black and dark, you can actually see its beak in there! The reason to not touch them during lockdown is because their pipping out, so your moving their position making them start over, and could be harmful to them. Evem if you did it on day 18 i think itd be fine, but id try not to Hope this makes sense!
also, if any eggs dont hatch by day 25 *just to be safe* definitely remove them. You dont want the mama using her time incubating a rotten/infertile egg!

 

[Sassy-ChikN Mom]

Please keep us posted!
I have eggs that will hatch about the same time as yours! (yours will hatch about a week earlier though
Day 21 for mine is the 7th of October.

Keep us posted as well on yours! Do you know what you might be hatching?

 

[Sassy-ChikN Mom]

Okay good and i almost did that my first time candling to! It doesnt have to be exact, in fact 18 is the actual lockdown period. But i find 18 can be pushing it, candeling is helpful *mostly during incubation and not broody hens* because you want to get the rotten ones out ASAP. these will litterally explode in the incubator contaminating the other eggs! The first day you should see no activity, just blank. The next you should see little veins. But some are a bit later then others (very importantl some egg shells are much thicker then others, and harder to see, so if you see nothing it could still be active!) after that youll see a little ball in the center grow much bigger, and soon become black and dark, you can actually see its beak in there! The reason to not touch them during lockdown is because their pipping out, so your moving their position making them start over, and could be harmful to them. Evem if you did it on day 18 i think itd be fine, but id try not to Hope this makes sense!
also, if any eggs dont hatch by day 25 *just to be safe* definitely remove them. You dont want the mama using her time incubating a rotten/infertile egg!

@Chicken poppy i thought of another question… soooo sorry!
In her nesting box she is on shavings and a little hay. Should I give her a coconut husk liner? I have them in another coop; actually where silkie momma laid the eggs and kept leaving…

 

[Chicken poppy]

Thank you again! I’ll definitely keep y’all updated and will reach out if I have any questions.
BTW, on one of the eggs, I thought I saw a tiny tiny black dot… kinda squiggling around, just a little. I thought it might be an eye? But it could be the beak?
This is so exciting and so fascinating!

Oh yes! please do!
and yes, your right! They get that little squirmy black dot in there. Its definitely progressing in there. Soon youll see the head and even little wings moving around

 

[Chicken poppy]

Yep! Sussexes, Plymouth Rocks and Silkies!

Ohh! I love plymouths, once they hatch you can instantly tell the gender!

 

[-Flash-]

really?! how?!

 

[Chicken poppy]

really?! how?!

Its super easy their sex links, so you simply tell by the dot on their head, if i remember correctly, if its big, its male, small, female!

heres a photo i found online for a example! Look at the white dot on the tip of their head!

 

[-Flash-]

Its super easy their sex links, so you simply tell by the dot on their head, if i remember correctly, if its big, its male, small, female!View attachment 2845310heres a photo i found online for a example! Look at the white dot on the tip of their head!

Oh wow!

 

[Chicken poppy]

Your hen will get off the nest for breaks, sometimes quite often if it's warm out. A half-hour or so to stretch the legs, poop, have a dust bath... Isn't going to harm the babies. Even longer is likely fine. But if she's not coming back to the nest or growl/purring, she may be losing her broodiness.

My SLW hasn't ever gone broody, but she's a big girl. I'd assume Silkie eggs should be okay, but I know some larger breeds can crush smaller eggs - like you could give a Silkie some quail eggs, but they prolly wouldn't last under a bramah etc...

Eggciting to hear they're developing well.

Heard it's starting to toast up over there. We're across the ditch in NZ and it's a lovely spring day today... Now as long as everyone plays nice, we can get outta lockdown soon.

Our lockdown here was a bit bumpy at first but its getting much better now andi hope it gets better there to!

 

[Chicken poppy]

I candled them today, day 17, out of the 24 only 2 where diff no-nos and one I'm not certain! That is incredible... for me at least!

It always is! Day 17 is egg-citing, once it gets to 19 or 20 itll make little cheeping sounds!