Sept Silkie hatches (Great Hatches)

[RubyNala97]

That sucks.... that is my usual experience of shipped eggs : (  and I have a hard time hatching the ones that do develop.  Were the ones you had success with shipped from close by?   I guess they don't have paint or you would order from them again.  Hopefully these eggs will do better than the last batch!

I guess I've been very fortunate. No, I've always ordered from a breeder in Georgia (I'm in NY) and I've had her send them 2-3 day shipping. She packs differently then these eggs. She double boxes, wraps each egg in a ton of bubble wrap and just places the eggs on their side on packing peanuts. Sometimes I would have loose air cells but by day 4 all were always solid. I wanted to get different bloodlines, you know? This breeder does one single layer of bubble wrap and places the egg in an egg carton, double boxed with shipping paper. Next batch I'm ordering will be from Pennsylvania which is only 6 hrs driving distance so we'll see how they are shipped. I'm going to let them rest for over 24 hrs. I like to set at night because I usually get hatches during the day that way and I will give a good candle tomorrow night. I'm hoping the resting will settle them down a bit! How's the chicks doing? Any pics of the porcelain??

 

[darkbluespace]

I guess I've been very fortunate. No, I've always ordered from a breeder in Georgia (I'm in NY) and I've had her send them 2-3 day shipping. She packs differently then these eggs. She double boxes, wraps each egg in a ton of bubble wrap and just places the eggs on their side on packing peanuts. Sometimes I would have loose air cells but by day 4 all were always solid. I wanted to get different bloodlines, you know? This breeder does one single layer of bubble wrap and places the egg in an egg carton, double boxed with shipping paper. Next batch I'm ordering will be from Pennsylvania which is only 6 hrs driving distance so we'll see how they are shipped. I'm going to let them rest for over 24 hrs. I like to set at night because I usually get hatches during the day that way and I will give a good candle tomorrow night. I'm hoping the resting will settle them down a bit! How's the chicks doing? Any pics of the porcelain??

The chicks are good, they are eating a lot! The last little chick out of its eggs was still really sleepy the other night and I started to get worried. I made it a little yolk/vitamin water mixture and had it drink some before I went to bed and then yesterday and today that chick is just zipping around, eating a lot. It is a dark chick with a vaulted skull and the funniest streak of lavender on the side of its head!

I kept thinking my older chicks were still very small but when the new chicks arrived, I remembered how small they start out. I think I have 2 Porcelain chicks... their head feathers are starting to come in and they both have that light brassiness/peachy color coming in on the back of the neck. I'll get more photos as their feathers come in.. . they are in that awkward stage right now : )

You all are making me want to get more eggs.... mostly just to hatch a long with you because I have enjoyed it so much.

Some of the best shipped eggs from out of state I received were from Kentucky. They were Serama eggs and they were wrapped in tubes of bubble wrap and then the tubes were placed upright in the box and packed in. I traded some eggs and sold some Serama eggs on ebay this year and shipped them that same way and people were very happy with them.

Eggs from Pennsylvania sound like a good idea... did you post that link to their eggs? I was thinking this batch was from there. They had pretty paints!

I saw two awesome paint chicks on craigslist but I wasn't able to get them. I am still kicking myself, they had great markings. The few I hatched have barely any markings. Would they just breed chicks with few markings? I don't know how it works. I saw someone else asked that question on byc but no one answered it. New breed... so many questions ; )

 

[darkbluespace]

My silkie mix eggs are in lock-down right now. I'm so excited!

Yay, can't wait to see them!

 

[RubyNala97]

The chicks are good, they are eating a lot!  The last little chick out of its eggs was still really sleepy the other night and I started to get worried.  I made it a little yolk/vitamin water mixture and had it drink some before I went to bed and then yesterday and today that chick is just zipping around, eating a lot.  It is a dark chick with a vaulted skull and the funniest streak of lavender on the side of its head!

I kept thinking my older chicks were still very small but when the new chicks arrived, I remembered how small they start out.  I think I have 2 Porcelain chicks... their head feathers are starting to come in and they both have that light brassiness/peachy color coming in on the back of the neck.  I'll get more photos as their feathers come in.. . they are in that awkward stage right now : ) 

You all are making me want to get more eggs.... mostly just to hatch a long with you because I have enjoyed it so much.

Some of the best shipped eggs from out of state I received were from Kentucky.  They were Serama eggs and they were wrapped in tubes of bubble wrap and then the tubes were placed upright in the box and packed in.  I traded some eggs and sold some Serama eggs on ebay this year and shipped them that same way and people were very happy with them.

Eggs from Pennsylvania sound like a good idea... did you post that link to their eggs?  I was thinking this batch was from there.  They had pretty paints!

I saw two awesome paint chicks on craigslist but I wasn't able to get them.  I am still kicking myself, they had great markings.  The few I hatched have barely any markings.   Would they just breed chicks with few markings?  I don't know how it works.  I saw someone else asked that question on byc but no one answered it.  New breed... so many questions ; )

You should have got those chicks!...but then you'd have less of a reason to hatch! Lol. I was starting to read about paints too. I read this but don't know if it's true. If you mate a white rooster to a black hen, you can start getting paint. Again, I don't know if that's true but I have a white cockerel and a black pullet, so I'm going to try in the spring. I think we talked about this once before but let's trade eggs in the spring!! I hope this link works...these are the eggs I have now:
https://m.facebook.com/feathersnfur.farm.1

I'm glad your little chick is doing better! That happened to me with a peachick that I assisted. She was almost dead in the brooder and I sat with her, giving her electrolytes and vitamins. Laid a blanket over her so the kids wouldn't wake up in the morning and see she had passed. The kids woke me up the next day and I said "don't look in the brooder", they said "why? We were just watching all the peas running around". I was shocked! She was up and going like nothing ever happened. Animals can be resilient!

 

[chickendreams24]

They traveled from Alabama and I'm in southern WI so they had quite the journey but they weren't packaged properly even when the seller sent the replacement eggs and I suggested/asked him to package them a certain way. They were packaged exactly the same but none were broken that time. Strange considering the second box was mildly dented. However still many of the air cells were bad. Very bad. I know a third isn't terrible for shipped eggs but our first hatch's eggs arrived so much better and they were silkies. Sadly they were off eBay and idr the seller

 

[silkienrescues]

i was doing some reading yesterday about malpositions and there is some evidence that the chicks orientation very early on can effect its final lie, but it did also note that keeping them upright until past day 18 resulted in more chicks orientating well even if they started off wrong. I know you hate the cartons, but maybe you could try them, and tilt the whole brooder from say day 3 to stop the blood vessels growing one sided as that might also effect where they choose to lie. The air cell may not reattach but it will stay in the top at least.
A disheartening start but all is not lost yet.
we have no idea why breech babies do as they do but uterine shape is often suggested and you cant change that just like you cant change egg shape.
lovely to see so many home birth advocates and people who have had one...not easy to do in the USA as i understand.

That paint breeding sounds very complicated, have you seen the page on how the first one was bred in the US, it went into the crossing quite indepth, talking about recessive white and black verses dominant.

Gita is it your eggs at lock down now? fingers crossed for you

 

[GitaBooks]

i was doing some reading yesterday about malpositions and there is some evidence that the chicks orientation very early on can effect its final lie, but it did also note that keeping them upright until past day 18 resulted in more chicks orientating well even if they started off wrong. I know you hate the cartons, but maybe you could try them, and tilt the whole brooder from say day 3 to stop the blood vessels growing one sided as that might also effect where they choose to lie. The air cell may not reattach but it will stay in the top at least.
A disheartening start but all is not lost yet.
we have no idea why breech babies do as they do but uterine shape is often suggested and you cant change that just like you cant change egg shape.
lovely to see so many home birth advocates and people who have had one...not easy to do in the USA as i understand.

That paint breeding sounds very complicated, have you seen the page on how the first one was bred in the US, it went into the crossing quite indepth, talking about recessive white and black verses dominant.

Gita is it your eggs at lock down now? fingers crossed for you

The wait is taking forever! They could hatch anywhere from today to Friday.

Of course, seeing as how that is only two days, I should be patient. But I don't think that will be happening. Lol.

 

[RubyNala97]

i was doing some reading yesterday about malpositions and there is some evidence that the chicks orientation very early on can effect its final lie, but it did also note that keeping them upright until past day 18 resulted in more chicks orientating well even if they started off wrong. I know you hate the cartons, but maybe you could try them, and tilt the whole brooder from say day 3 to stop the blood vessels growing one sided as that might also effect where they choose to lie. The air cell may not reattach but it will stay in the top at least.
A disheartening start but all is not lost yet.
we have no idea why breech babies do as they do but uterine shape is often suggested and you cant change that just like you cant change egg shape.
lovely to see so many home birth advocates and people who have had one...not easy to do in the USA as i understand.

That paint breeding sounds very complicated, have you seen the page on how the first one was bred in the US, it went into the crossing quite indepth, talking about recessive white and black verses dominant.

Gita is it your eggs at lock down now? fingers crossed for you

Yes, I'm leaving these eggs in cartons the whole time! This will be a first for me but I gotta try everything possible. I've spent so much $ on these last two batches. How are the partridge eggs doing?

Yes, homebirth is hard in the U.S. Mine was 10 years ago and it was taboo. My family was not supportive. But it's getting so much better. For my last birth I picked a hospital 40 minutes away because they had birthing tubs in each room and you could have a midwife. I had to be induced, as I went to 42 weeks but it was by far my easiest birth, surprisingly!

The wait is taking forever! They could hatch anywhere from today to Friday.   Of course, seeing as how that is only two days, I should be patient. But I don't think that will be happening. Lol.

Lockdown takes forever!! I have 2 quail eggs due today. No signs of internal pip. But one egg still looks good. It better hurry up because I need the incubator!! Good luck!!

 

[darkbluespace]

They traveled from Alabama and I'm in southern WI so they had quite the journey but they weren't packaged properly even when the seller sent the replacement eggs and I suggested/asked him to package them a certain way. They were packaged exactly the same but none were broken that time. Strange considering the second box was mildly dented. However still many of the air cells were bad. Very bad. I know a third isn't terrible for shipped eggs but our first hatch's eggs arrived so much better and they were silkies. Sadly they were off eBay and idr the seller

Everyone packages their eggs differently and it is a real gamble. Can you look up your purchases on ebay and find that seller if you want to order from them again?

 

[darkbluespace]

I was looking up Catdance Silkies and I just realized she is not terribly far from me. Her Silkies are seriously amazing! I don't know why I thought she was in California but she's in Washington. I can't afford her eggs right now but maybe someday... She has paint, black, lavender and porcelain, all the colors I love! She has beautiful whites too.