Silkie saga

[TwoCrows]

If they were all white silkies I could just claim to have a bad dandelion problem

SO much floof!!!!

 

[2ndTink]

I'm eggxtra eggcited! I have 22 silkie / satin hatching eggs ready to go, two Nurture Right 360 incubators heating up, and a whole lotta hope the guy I got the eggs from was really great and my friend brought both her incubators just in case one didn't work, so I have both heating up over night to see which one seems to read and operate the best. So far the temps seem ok but the humidity readings are definitely off from the hygrometer I put in them. I'll see in the morning where they are at, select the chosen incubator, and add some chicken seeds!

I was only going to do 12 to 18 eggs, but... what if some don't hatch? Might as well fill it up he's had just over 80% hatch rate, then if you factor in 50/50 for pullets and 50/50 for satin, I really should be filing up both incubators.

I'm not sure if these eggs look normal or not, I couldn't see the air sac, I need to look up more info on here. They also look porous, but maybe this is normal too. They're so little and cute!

 

[TwoCrows]

I'm eggxtra eggcited! I have 22 silkie / satin hatching eggs ready to go, two Nurture Right 360 incubators heating up, and a whole lotta hope the guy I got the eggs from was really great and my friend brought both her incubators just in case one didn't work, so I have both heating up over night to see which one seems to read and operate the best. So far the temps seem ok but the humidity readings are definitely off from the hygrometer I put in them. I'll see in the morning where they are at, select the chosen incubator, and add some chicken seeds!

I was only going to do 12 to 18 eggs, but... what if some don't hatch? Might as well fill it up he's had just over 80% hatch rate, then if you factor in 50/50 for pullets and 50/50 for satin, I really should be filing up both incubators.

I'm not sure if these eggs look normal or not, I couldn't see the air sac, I need to look up more info on here. They also look porous, but maybe this is normal too. They're so little and cute!

Eggies!!!! If there is no air cell, they are probably too fresh. Let them set somewhere 60 or so degrees if possible. In 5 or 6 days there should be an air cell. Get yourself a new temp/humidity guage you can put inside the incubators to compare numbers, I always use one inside the machine, incubators are notorious for going out of calibration. The Accurite temp/humidity guages are pretty accurate.

 

[2ndTink]

Eggies!!!! If there is no air cell, they are probably too fresh. Let them set somewhere 60 or so degrees if possible. In 5 or 6 days there should be an air cell. Get yourself a new temp/humidity guage you can put inside the incubators to compare numbers, I always use one inside the machine, incubators are notorious for going out of calibration. The Accurite temp/humidity guages are pretty accurate.

Uh oh, I already set them in this morning and left for work. Will they be ok or will it be an issue?

From reading on here I saw the Accurite was recommended so I have one of those in there. The amphibian analog one seems to be accurate only at 75%.

 

[TwoCrows]

Uh oh, I already set them in this morning and left for work. Will they be ok or will it be an issue?

From reading on here I saw the Accurite was recommended so I have one of those in there. The amphibian analog one seems to be accurate only at 75%.

You will need to shrink this air cell down so that by the time they hatch, they have this pocket to breathe. So if I were in this position, I would do a dry hatch during the incubation cycle, little to no humidity for the first 18 days. You need these eggs to dry out to form the air cell. Monitor the air cell by candling every few days after day 4, hopefully by lock down the air cell is large enough. At lock down you will then use humidity to help soften the shell and keep them from sticking to the inside of the shell. Great on the guage! I only use the Accurite, love them!

 

[2ndTink]

You will need to shrink this air cell down so that by the time they hatch, they have this pocket to breathe. So if I were in this position, I would do a dry hatch during the incubation cycle, little to no humidity for the first 18 days. You need these eggs to dry out to form the air cell. Monitor the air cell by candling every few days after day 4, hopefully by lock down the air cell is large enough. At lock down you will then use humidity to help soften the shell and keep them from sticking to the inside of the shell. Great on the guage! I only use the Accurite, love them!

Ok, all is not lost then, I'll weigh some of the eggs tonight and start tracking the weight loss. Our current outdoor weather is 80 degF, the humidity was at 84% an hour ago but has now dropped to 63%, we have had the AC on in the house so I think it's in the 40s to 50s, so a "dry" hatch might be hard. I do have a dehumidifier I can move into the room. Come to think of it, the dehumidifier in our basement is set at 50% and it runs a lot. I just read that dry hatching should be between 15% and 30% for the first 18 days. I know what I'll be doing this weekend! Checking the humidity levels A LOT.

Good news on the Accurite!

 

[TwoCrows]

Ok, all is not lost then, I'll weigh some of the eggs tonight and start tracking the weight loss. Our current outdoor weather is 80 degF, the humidity was at 84% an hour ago but has now dropped to 63%, we have had the AC on in the house so I think it's in the 40s to 50s, so a "dry" hatch might be hard. I do have a dehumidifier I can move into the room. Come to think of it, the dehumidifier in our basement is set at 50% and it runs a lot. I just read that dry hatching should be between 15% and 30% for the first 18 days. I know what I'll be doing this weekend! Checking the humidity levels A LOT.

Good news on the Accurite!

Sounds perfect! Ultimately this is what you want to see...

So if you can dry them out a bit you should be fine. If by chance the air cells start growing too fast, add humidity. I am so egg-cited to follow along, we need Floof!

 

[2ndTink]

Sounds perfect! Ultimately this is what you want to see...

View attachment 3569251

So if you can dry them out a bit you should be fine. If by chance the air cells start growing too fast, add humidity. I am so egg-cited to follow along, we need Floof!

More floof is always needed!

Oh, and I forgot to say that I asked if his stock was being started from hatchery stock and its not! He's been buying eggs and birds from breeders from various states, what a find for me! And less than an hour away, so as long as he's successful with his breeding pens, I'll have an amazing source for good quality silkies and satins. Also, when we were talking to him and he started talking about his chocolate frizzle rooster, my husband said any frizzle chicks are his I wasn't going to keep any frizzles, but I can't go selling my husband's chickens, so I guess we'll just have to increase our flock number, again. Counting chicks before they're hatched, but...

 

[TwoCrows]

More floof is always needed!

Oh, and I forgot to say that I asked if his stock was being started from hatchery stock and its not! He's been buying eggs and birds from breeders from various states, what a find for me! And less than an hour away, so as long as he's successful with his breeding pens, I'll have an amazing source for good quality silkies and satins. Also, when we were talking to him and he started talking about his chocolate frizzle rooster, my husband said any frizzle chicks are his I wasn't going to keep any frizzles, but I can't go selling my husband's chickens, so I guess we'll just have to increase our flock number, again. Counting chicks before they're hatched, but...

Always great to hatch from non hatchery stock, you get a much healthier bird. Oooh, Frizzles are so darn cute! More floof, more floof! ! I am behind the scenes cheering these little eggies on!!

 

[2ndTink]

Always great to hatch from non hatchery stock, you get a much healthier bird. Oooh, Frizzles are so darn cute! More floof, more floof! ! I am behind the scenes cheering these little eggies on!!

I got the water out of the incubator, it's hanging around 27% to 31% now and 99.5 to 100 degF. I weighed 7 eggs, they range from 33g to a chonky 40g, I penciled the weights on the eggs. The Nurture Right says it's 40% humidity but the Accurite hangs right about 10 clicks lower.