Possible hatchlings?? Help! Advice?!

So beautiful! I love her already! What a sweet little one. :love😍
I thought the first 3 were small… holy moly she is TINY! I got a better look at her when I moved momma & baby back outside to what has now turned into the “nursery”.

she is small but she is mighty…. And a tough little cookie. ❤️

thank you all so much for EVERYTHING! Out of 5 eggs, we only lost one. Had it not been for y’all, I don’t know if any would have made it! From the bottom of my heart… thank you.
 
I thought the first 3 were small… holy moly she is TINY! I got a better look at her when I moved momma & baby back outside to what has now turned into the “nursery”.

she is small but she is mighty…. And a tough little cookie. ❤️

thank you all so much for EVERYTHING! Out of 5 eggs, we only lost one. Had it not been for y’all, I don’t know if any would have made it! From the bottom of my heart… thank you.
So glad we could help, and even happier that your babies all came to okay!
For your sweet little Stormy, she might be a bantam. I'm pretty sure all Silkies are considered bantams in the US, but size still varies.
 
Meet (from L to R):
Autumn, Luna, Marigold and in the front, Stormy! :jumpy:jumpy:jumpy:jumpy

Since they hatched in the fall, I went with Fall themed names; except Stormy who hatched during a severe thunderstorm. Momma’s and babies are all doing well! :love

On an interesting note- they hatched from biggest to smallest and lightest to darkest!
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Hey! Id love to help as much as possible, as im decently experinced with this type of thing!
1. nono, dont be to worried. Candling is delicate, but that is truly later on developed, you dont want to shake them around a bunch, the fat side should be down and the skinny at the top

2. No, flashlights arent bad or anything, you need them very bright to get into the shell

3. it can depend, i think id leave them there, its easier that way in my opinion, if you do decide to put them in incubation, it takes time. And do it sooner then later. Before lockdown (day 17 or so)

4. i typically candle them every week or so, dont do it to often (not that its bad, its just more chances of dropping them and such, and its best for nature to take its time!)

and you should be! Congratulations on this! It sounds very exciting, just ask if you have any more questions, im happy to awnser the best i can!
Will the other hens kill baby chicks?
 
So my little silkie Roos have been ‘hanging out’ A LOT with one of my silkie hens. She has now become super broody, but kept leaving the nest box and abandoning the eggs, so I started taking them and moving them under a Larger hen that has gone SUPER SUPER broody.

she is currently sitting on 5 silkie eggs. I am so new to having fertilized eggs as I’ve always started with chicks. I did the candle test on them tonight and I saw an air sac & blood vessels in 4 of the 5.

now my momma nerves are setting in. I just bought an incubator a few weeks ago, but have yet to set it up. My questions are:

1. did I do anything to mess up the egg development by clumsily doing the candle test? Like should I have held them a certain way?

2. Is there a certain flashlight that should be used? I used a generic LED household flashlight

3. should I leave the eggs under my broody surrogate momma? Or move them to the incubator?

4. How often should I check the eggs for viability?

thanks in advance! I’m an excited ball of nerves… if that makes sense. LOL
If you’re happy for broody mama to hatch them, save yourself the hassle. Hens do what hens do best. Good luck.
 
Here they are; about a month old now! Compared to a newly hatched silkie. They’ve grown fast and even have their little “pants” now! We lost 2, 1 to a predator and momma squished one… 🤷🏼‍♀️
 

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Here they are; about a month old now! Compared to a newly hatched silkie. They’ve grown fast and even have their little “pants” now! We lost 2, 1 to a predator and momma squished one… 🤷🏼‍♀️
Cuties! Congrats!
Sadly, it can be hard to go without casualties. I lost 2 when my broody hatched babies, one failed to thrive and I found the other dead not to long after hatch. Congratulations on your survivors! Its such a fun experience. :D
 

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