Silkie thread!

[Brody's Broodello]

Here's the link for Ohio National. They usually have at least 6000 entries, if there is one show to go to, that is it!!!!! Love this show!

http://www.ohionational.org/

 

[sager:)silkies]

Here's the link for Ohio National. They usually have at least 6000 entries, if there is one show to go to, that is it!!!!! Love this show!

http://www.ohionational.org/

i see it says its for november 10-11th the dates are good time but were is it im guessing ohio but were in ohio

 

[stoopid]

Columbus. Hmm, I have a friend in Columbus, looks like I need a road trip this year!

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Columbus. Hmm, I have a friend in Columbus, looks like I need a road trip this year!

Cool, Stoo! We might get to meet!! I'm planning to go to the Ohio National this year too.

(Just spectating. Not with birds.)

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Zack, get your birds out and show them! Try to attend shows that have APA certified judges rather than just fairs. After judging is complete, track the judge down and ask for his/her honest opinion of your birds. I have always found the judges (and plenty of others!!) more than glad to share their opinion if asked. They may be reluctant to be super critical, especially if you are a junior so you should insist that they give their honest opinion. Tell them that you are trying to learn and want to improve your birds. Then be prepared because judges can be tough!!! But that's the point. No bird is perfect. Not even the fancy American ones

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[Hawkeye95]

So sorry! That is a total nightmare and makes my stomach sick even thinking about it! We have been really lucky with our Brinsea, then, cause it was just a teensy bit low (.5 degree) but otherwise good. It is a Octagon Advance and we have the humidity pump so we don't have to worry about humidity--that part has been super nice. We also have a couple of the new hovabators, the new Genesis with built in hygrometer as well as temp. One of them was pretty accurate in both temp and humidity, the other was off on both but especially humidity. We keep a backup hygrometer in that one.

The thermometers we have NOT been happy with would make for a very long list, but unfortunately I don't remember names anymore as it's been a couple years. What we use now are the Brinsea digitial thermometer (that's the one they replaced even though it wasn't off by much) which is a probe style and can be dropped down to the level of the eggs. That one came highly recommended and has been very nice. We also use a couple of other probe style thermometer that are intended for use in fish tanks, but they are only so-so. And lastly we take quick readings off the eggs themselves using an ear thermometer. Those range from $15-25 around here and I would go with a nicer end one. We were given the tip to use those by a guy at our State Vet Univesity who pointed out that the eggs can get quite a bit warmer due to their own developing metabolic heat just before hatch, and sometimes in large hatches can overheat unless the incubator is adjusted. To be honest, we haven't seen a big difference in the egg temperature there at the end, but we are doing smaller hatches or divided hatches. At any rate, if you decide to get the ear thermometer aim it at the bottom 2/3ds of the egg, so below the air sack, and you will probably only be able to do one or two eggs at a time and close the incubator in between so you're not affecting egg temp.

Lastly, the hygrometer we use is a Fluker (I think that's how it's spelled) which is the only hygrometer we've ever liked. It's intended for reptile use and sold in the reptile section of big pet stores. It's pretty accurate and we've used it to back everything else up.

Good luck! If you're bator isn't helping you I think that first while trying to get the setup working as it should can be pretty agonizing. Hang in there, and I hope this helps!

That was a great idea, thank you! I have a temporal scanner that I spent about $60 on last christmas for the kids. I scanned the eggs in my incubator and they came up at 101.3 and I thought yieks! That it too high! Then I used my BBT to check the temp in the tray right next to them and it read at 99.3-- a 2 tenths too low. SO THEN I went out side with my scanner, because I remembered that my broody is sitting on a couple of eggs and one of them is growing just fine. Those eggs scanned in at 101.4 (non fertile egg) and 101.8 for the fertile egg that is half way full of chick... so I adjusted my incubator up just a teeny tiny bit to try to hit 99.5 and I think I'm pretty much on track for the egg temps since they scanned so closely together! Anyway, thanks for the great idea! I think I got it all worked out last night, but wow, that was an ordeal!! I'm still going to hunt down a decent therm/hygro!

 

[Hawkeye95]

Elliot, my avatar, came home in my lunch cooler in egg form from Crossroads in Indiana last October. Was chatting in the isles with Silkie folks. Ran into a woman that was asking about importing birds/eggs into Canada. She didn't actually think anything would be fertile at the show. We were walking and chatting. She handed off eggs from the cages as she inspected her birds prior to judging which I pocketed. I wandered around the show all day with 3 Silkie eggs in my pockets. Threw them in the incubator when I got home a couple of days later and Elliot hatched exactly 21 days after that. I actually had to join the American Bantam Silkie Club to find out who gave me the eggs since I didn't bother to ask at the show!!! (And, happily, I DID find out about Elliot's origins ...

).

If you have an avian vet that you work with and are NPIP, selling to Canada will be a breeze! There is paperwork - mention "VS form 17-6" to your vet and find out how much they will charge you for it. (Same form is needed if you want to show in Canada which will happen a bit this fall because one of the big APA shows IS in Canada this fall! Same form is needed by Americans to show their birds in Canada.) The completed form has to be sent off by your vet to a state office that will stamp the form and return it to you. You should then forward that original stamped form to your buyer. They need to have that original form in hand with the birds/eggs to get them across the border. Ship the birds/eggs to a border town address and it's done.

oh wow, you got lucky on that egg hatching since she didn't think they were fertile! That was really nice of her to give those to you! This VS form stuff does sound like more of a hassle than the NPIP testing and papers. Now I think I'm understanding the reluctance of the breeders to pay for the work, mail to Canada, have it sent back and then mail to you. WOW... not exactly easy. Doable... but not simple by any means.

Here's the hygrometer. I would definitely test it and send it back if it's not close to right. I would think they would pay for shipping. I love mine!
http://www.eggcartons.com/FHP-HYGRO.html?search=New+Design+Incubator+Hygrometer+productinfo

This is similar to our thermometer with probe and is our thermostat but this one isn't Fahrenheit.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digital-tem...080?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cc33dc548

This is the thermometer we got. I love the thermometer part! It is also a hygrometer and probably very accurate but uses cloth and water, etc. Very complicated to me.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Incubat...025?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item587e948a69

Thank you for the links! I've checked them out and I'm not sure I'd want to use the hygro with the braided cloth-- not sure how to do that. Salt testing I can do.. and I like going that route. Anyway, thanks again and I'll give them another look as I get back on my hunt!

 

[ChickensXOXO]

After putting a Silkie egg under a hen last month from my new pullet, I was really bummed when the egg went missing.
So I did something I didn't plan to do! I've put some Silkie eggs under a couple different non-silkie hens, hoping to get some babies!
I want to raise them for the fun of it. It's Spring, and all the chicks I see on here everyday have really got me wanting some more!
If they hatch this time, I want to raise them for a few months to enjoy them, and hopefully, keep one pullet out the bunch.

The others I'll just try to rehome locally as pets. I already have one lady wanting two for her grandkids.
ANYWAY, what I'm trying to get to..... *drum roll* ...I'm expecting some to hatch today!

I'm so excited, and I'm really hoping they hatch this time! I haven't candled them or anything. Just letting the hen do her job.

 

[Hawkeye95]

guys i have great news my stepdad said we can go to the states sometime in the fall and go to a show

i wanted to ask u breeders of top show silkies in the states what would be the best show to go to and wanted to know if anyone would be willing to sell me eggs or if u can have proper documation to get a piar of fullgrowns across that would be sweet im not asking for ur best cause as u can see anything from u guys is better then what i have

OH YAY Zack!! I hope you are able to pick up some eggs or a Pair!! That would really help your project!!

 

[Hawkeye95]

After putting a Silkie egg under a hen last month from my new pullet, I was really bummed when the egg went missing.
So I did something I didn't plan to do! I've put some Silkie eggs under a couple different non-silkie hens, hoping to get some babies!
I want to raise them for the fun of it. It's Spring, and all the chicks I see on here everyday have really got me wanting some more!
If they hatch this time, I want to raise them for a few months to enjoy them, and hopefully, keep one pullet out the bunch.

The others I'll just try to rehome locally as pets. I already have one lady wanting two for her grandkids.
ANYWAY, what I'm trying to get to..... *drum roll* ...I'm expecting some to hatch today!

I'm so excited, and I'm really hoping they hatch this time! I haven't candled them or anything. Just letting the hen do her job.

Oh that's great!!! I hope they hatch for you! My broody is sitting on one good egg right now. I'm hoping next week I have a chick! Take pics if they hatch! What do you think happened to the other egg? That is odd it just disappeared? Could a snake have gotten in there? When I was a kid, that was always a problem for us-- the snakes would get in and eat several eggs at a time! Now I hope with my raised coop, it will be harder to access than what my dad had set up.