Sept/Oct 2023 Hatch-A-Long

[NCchickentender]

So this is my first shipped eggs attempt. I bought 6 silkies. I have 6 week old chicks so even if only one hatched, their brooders are side by side. Seller sent them Monday morning and I got them Wednesday morning. She sent double what I ordered! Yayyyy! They were packaged so well but the box still had damage. After weighing, I let them rest until it got dark enough to candle. Unfortunately 9 have detached air cells, 1 has a saddled air cell and one egg has a very porous shell. I let them rest for 36 hours, pointy side down while I calibrate the thermo/hygro. I contacted the seller just for an update and she is going to send 12 more eggs Monday morning, even though it wasn't her fault. Right on!! So I'll be setting eggs next week too.
I didn't realize how tiny these eggs are so now I'm scrambling to find quail rails for the egg turner. I've got a few days of hand turning and I can't seem to find any local so I'll order them. Anyone know if the rails for a LG will fit in a farm innovators egg turner?
I also have tons of questions about hatching silkie eggs. Are the temps/humidity the same for these as my backyard girls' eggs? Is lockdown the 17th or 18th day? I've read both are so I'm confused(doesn't take much for me) Do silkie eggs need to lose the same % of weight by lockdown? I'll be weighing them regularly to be on the safe side.
Any and all tips are greatly appreciated

 

[Prophecyx1]

Hey! Congrats on your eggs! I have Silkies too and am actually 10 days left from a hatch! I have always done what is considered the standard (temp and humidity) for any chicken eggs. 21 days, last 3 days lockdown. I do not weigh mine, since I know I would obsess over it lol. So maybe someone else will have some advice there.

 

[NCchickentender]

Thank you! Congrats to you too! Can't wait til I only had 10 days left lol
That's my plan too, unless someone tells me different.
Believe it or not, I was more stressed out worrying about the humidity with the hygrometer but by weighing them I will know if it needs to be raised or lowered.

 

[Prophecyx1]

Thank you! Congrats to you too! Can't wait til I only had 10 days left lol
That's my plan too, unless someone tells me different.
Believe it or not, I was more stressed out worrying about the humidity with the hygrometer but by weighing them I will know if it needs to be raised or lowered.

Interesting! How tedious is the weighing? Would you mind explaining it? Ive looked into it, but not enough to have valid opinion

 

[NCchickentender]

It takes a little bit of math but it's not too hard. First, I weigh the eggs. The eggs need to lose 11% to 13% by day 18(they lose more the last 3 days but I don't weigh after 18). I'm shooting of 12% loss by lockdown. Once you figure out how much 12% of each egg is, you divide the 12% of weight lost, by the 18 days, you get your daily loss. If they are losing too much weight, up the humidity. If they are not losing enough, lower the humidity.

For example: silkie egg weights 40g 12% of that weight is 4.8g making the weight I'm shooting for at lockdown is 35.2g dividing the 4.8 by 18 days gives me the daily loss of .266g if my math is right but it's late lol

After I hit that sweet spot (the weight loss I'm trying to reach daily) I can record the numbers on the hygrometers for reference. If the weights are right, the air cells should be right so I only have to candle 3 times, just to check for quitters. Did that make any sense? lol

 

[gimmie birdies]

Good news for you, I hear small eggs ship better.

 

[NCchickentender]

Hey! Congrats on your eggs! I have Silkies too and am actually 10 days left from a hatch! I have always done what is considered the standard (temp and humidity) for any chicken eggs. 21 days, last 3 days lockdown. I do not weigh mine, since I know I would obsess over it lol. So maybe someone else will have some advice there.

How are your eggs doing? On lockdown yet? Good luck!

Last night was day 7 for mine so I candled them. Only 4 out of the 12 have good veins. Considering only 2 had intact air cells I'm ok with this. The other 2 have saddled air cells. I'll leave them all in the bator until day 10, just to be sure. The seller did send replacements (even though these eggs couldn't have been packed any better) and they will be here today.

They got here as I was typing. Had to stop, unpack and candle them. These look much better!! Just 2 with a saddled air cells and one jiggly one (that I seen) but I only candled from the pointy end and didn't move them much. I'll check better after they've had time to rest.

I wasn't holding my breath for a better shipment this time @gimme birdies but they were. No damage to the box, eggs were packed in tightly... I'm happy!

 

[NCchickentender]

@Prophecyx1 How did your hatch turn out?

I'm on day 14 with the first set of eggs. Only 4 are left. 3 have saddled air sacs and one looks good. The eggs I removed were scrambled!! I'm glad I weighed them because the saddled air sacs are severe. Their weights are right on track though.

The second set are great! All 12 have little embryos in them. They are on day 5 and I've seen the eye in all of them! Yayyy!

My 20 day old backyard chicks are doing great! I just got them a producer's pride brooder (gave up the red light) and was a little leery about it but they are thriving!

Since my last flock was slaughtered by loose dogs hubby is putting up a 6' fence around the side yard. A couple strands of electric horse fence will help and I have cameras ready to set up! Animal control has had no luck catching the dogs. All I can say is next time they won't leave this property

 

[Prophecyx1]

@Prophecyx1 How did your hatch turn out?

I'm on day 14 with the first set of eggs. Only 4 are left. 3 have saddled air sacs and one looks good. The eggs I removed were scrambled!! I'm glad I weighed them because the saddled air sacs are severe. Their weights are right on track though.

The second set are great! All 12 have little embryos in them. They are on day 5 and I've seen the eye in all of them! Yayyy!

My 20 day old backyard chicks are doing great! I just got them a producer's pride brooder (gave up the red light) and was a little leery about it but they are thriving!

Since my last flock was slaughtered by loose dogs hubby is putting up a 6' fence around the side yard. A couple strands of electric horse fence will help and I have cameras ready to set up! Animal control has had no luck catching the dogs. All I can say is next time they won't leave this property

Hey! 13 eggs hatched out of the 15 eggs I had to start. The 2 left were duds. 1 never formed, and the 2nd stopped growing past day 14 it seems. Though atm I am having an issue with pasty butt on most of the chicks and not sure why. Im so sorry to hear about your last flock. And I cant blame you. Last time I had that issue I had to take care of it myself, unfortunately when dogs get a taste for chicken they are hard to stop. Its heart breaking, but it just is what it is.

 

[gimmie birdies]

Day 19 for me