Silkie thread!

[Iluvmysilkies]

Thanks foxhole farms. Can I get some more input from others who have encountered eggs like this. I was planning on giving these to my broody to hatch since I feel like I might have screwed the humidity up a little cause the air sack look bigger and I'm afraid they are going to get shrink wrapped. I was thinking my hen would do the humidity right and might hatch them better then I could but now I'm unsure what to do. Are these safe to lay on their sides and let a broody hatch them or are they better left to hatch in an egg carton with the sides cut down low so that the eggs could stay standing upright but slightly slanted. They have been in an automatic turner during the whole incubation so far. I really want to get these babies to hatch or at least half otherwise I fear I won't want to try again. I've put so much mentally into this. (First time hatching) I really want to see these babies hatch. Which should I go with to give them the best chance?

 

[hmt007]

Hello!! I am a new silkie owner and would love some advice. I have 2 3 month old chicks and then 2 older ones around 8 months. They are all inside at the moment and their new coop is finally done! I know that the older ones will be fine to transition to their new outside home, but I am worried about the younger ones. I am in MA and the nights are getting colder and colder. Should I wait to put the 2 younger ones out? Thank you for your help!

 

[Going Quackers]

Hello!! I am a new silkie owner and would love some advice. I have 2 3 month old chicks and then 2 older ones around 8 months. They are all inside at the moment and their new coop is finally done! I know that the older ones will be fine to transition to their new outside home, but I am worried about the younger ones. I am in MA and the nights are getting colder and colder. Should I wait to put the 2 younger ones out? Thank you for your help!

The younger ones will likely keep warm with the olders. I did have some young i put out last year at 2-3mth range.. and they were just themselves, they did do okay.

I keep thermometers in all coops so i know roughly where they are sitting for temp.

 

[kabhyper1]

I would also like to hear info on this @Iluvmysillkies. I just placed 8 shipped eggs under a broody 4 days ago. I let them settle for about 18 hours before giving them to her. I checked a couple last night, and since they are darker silkie eggs, couldn't see the air cell quite yet, but did see spider veining in them. I have been concerned about the air cell issue also since these are my first shipped eggs. I have hatched successfully with broodies all year with their own eggs. Shipped eggs are a mystery to me.

As a side note, I was curious what you all would do about a broody that refuses to eat dry crumbles, she will eat some wet down, but not much. About the only thing she will eat is scrambled eggs. If I set those in front of her she devours them, but turns her beak up at anything else. I have some grit and cracked corn in her dry crumbles to encourage her to eat more, but she just picks out the corn. Grrr! She's a stinker! Her poops have been normal just very loose from the wet foods she has been eating. Have I inadvertently spoiled her? She is kinda thin since she was broody a week before her eggs go here. So I'm just trying to get her to eat anything at all right now. She also has food and water right under her nose all the time if she gets hungry, so I'm not sure how much she is eating, but her poops are dark green with what looks like crumbles specks in it. She eats grass every morning when she goes out to potty so I think the grass may be the culprit to the dark green color. I haven't seen the bright green empty tummy poos so thats comforting I suppose. I hope one of you can lend some insight to this. Thanks!

 

[Lacrystol]

K thanks I think I'll just try n find a better looking rooster for my hens

$50.00?? are you kidding me? sorry to say that rooster has a LOT of defaults, its definitely NOT worth $50.00. Hell for $50.00 I can get you a better silkie with Just as many defaults. LOL, I wouldn't do that to you but I'm just saying.

He's not worth that price... Just to start off the Comb is absolutely the wrong color.

 

[FoxholeFarm]

Thanks foxhole farms. Can I get some more input from others who have encountered eggs like this. I was planning on giving these to my broody to hatch since I feel like I might have screwed the humidity up a little cause the air sack look bigger and I'm afraid they are going to get shrink wrapped. I was thinking my hen would do the humidity right and might hatch them better then I could but now I'm unsure what to do. Are these safe to lay on their sides and let a broody hatch them or are they better left to hatch in an egg carton with the sides cut down low so that the eggs could stay standing upright but slightly slanted. They have been in an automatic turner during the whole incubation so far. I really want to get these babies to hatch or at least half otherwise I fear I won't want to try again. I've put so much mentally into this. (First time hatching) I really want to see these babies hatch. Which should I go with to give them the best chance?

Thanks foxhole farms. Can I get some more input from others who have encountered eggs like this. I was planning on giving these to my broody to hatch since I feel like I might have screwed the humidity up a little cause the air sack look bigger and I'm afraid they are going to get shrink wrapped. I was thinking my hen would do the humidity right and might hatch them better then I could but now I'm unsure what to do. Are these safe to lay on their sides and let a broody hatch them or are they better left to hatch in an egg carton with the sides cut down low so that the eggs could stay standing upright but slightly slanted. They have been in an automatic turner during the whole incubation so far. I really want to get these babies to hatch or at least half otherwise I fear I won't want to try again. I've put so much mentally into this. (First time hatching) I really want to see these babies hatch. Which should I go with to give them the best chance?

I havent hatched shipped eggs myself, but I know that some people swear by the natural instincts of a proven broody hen when it comes to shipped eggs. There are lots of threads on here about hatching shipped eggs with bad air cells and plenty of photos of what you have there. Wish I could offer more advice but if I say any more I will be talking out my ***.

I would also like to hear info on this @Iluvmysillkies. I just placed 8 shipped eggs under a broody 4 days ago. I let them settle for about 18 hours before giving them to her. I checked a couple last night, and since they are darker silkie eggs, couldn't see the air cell quite yet, but did see spider veining in them. I have been concerned about the air cell issue also since these are my first shipped eggs. I have hatched successfully with broodies all year with their own eggs. Shipped eggs are a mystery to me.

As a side note, I was curious what you all would do about a broody that refuses to eat dry crumbles, she will eat some wet down, but not much. About the only thing she will eat is scrambled eggs. If I set those in front of her she devours them, but turns her beak up at anything else. I have some grit and cracked corn in her dry crumbles to encourage her to eat more, but she just picks out the corn. Grrr! She's a stinker! Her poops have been normal just very loose from the wet foods she has been eating. Have I inadvertently spoiled her? She is kinda thin since she was broody a week before her eggs go here. So I'm just trying to get her to eat anything at all right now. She also has food and water right under her nose all the time if she gets hungry, so I'm not sure how much she is eating, but her poops are dark green with what looks like crumbles specks in it. She eats grass every morning when she goes out to potty so I think the grass may be the culprit to the dark green color. I haven't seen the bright green empty tummy poos so thats comforting I suppose. I hope one of you can lend some insight to this. Thanks!

Trust your broody. She needs a much higher fat and carb diet than normal and I know some folks who feed their broodies nothing but corn and sunflower seeds while they are on the nest to give them the calories they need. Broody hens dont eat nearly as often because of their dedication to the nest, so losing weight and feathers is pretty normal. My cochin looked pretty scrawny after 25 days on the nest and its 6 weeks later and she is only just starting to look right again. Broodies also poop a little differently because they will hold it for a long time to keep their nest clean. As a result they leave HUGE smelly turds that dont look like their normal poop.

Make a variety of foods available to her. Let her eat as much of any one thing that she wants so long as she is drinking. You can add electrolytes to her water to make sure she is getting balanced nutrients. Don't worry too much. Trust your hen to know whats good for her. :]

 

[kabhyper1]

I havent hatched shipped eggs myself, but I know that some people swear by the natural instincts of a proven broody hen when it comes to shipped eggs. There are lots of threads on here about hatching shipped eggs with bad air cells and plenty of photos of what you have there. Wish I could offer more advice but if I say any more I will be talking out my ***.

Trust your broody. She needs a much higher fat and carb diet than normal and I know some folks who feed their broodies nothing but corn and sunflower seeds while they are on the nest to give them the calories they need. Broody hens dont eat nearly as often because of their dedication to the nest, so losing weight and feathers is pretty normal. My cochin looked pretty scrawny after 25 days on the nest and its 6 weeks later and she is only just starting to look right again. Broodies also poop a little differently because they will hold it for a long time to keep their nest clean. As a result they leave HUGE smelly turds that dont look like their normal poop.

Make a variety of foods available to her. Let her eat as much of any one thing that she wants so long as she is drinking. You can add electrolytes to her water to make sure she is getting balanced nutrients. Don't worry too much. Trust your hen to know whats good for her. :]

Thanks. I have heard horror stories of broodies starving on the nest, so I make her at least eat a scrambled egg a day. She is inside in a tote, like I do with all of my broodies, so I take her out in the morning to relieve herself and eat. She wont eat off the nest at all. She scratches in the grass and pecks but when I put food in front of her off nest she just runs off and clucks. I put her back on the nest, let her settle in, and she will inhale scrambled eggs. She must be drinking because her stool is very loose, like liquid. She has energy too. Would a scrambled egg or two a day be enough food for her during her brood? This is the first time she wont eat crumbles brooding. SHe is my first hen to not eat crumbles while brooding for that matter.

 

[Sylviaanne]

Unfortunately, I missed taking a rubber band off the leg of my 8-9 week old Silkie and the feather grew over it and I didn't see a problem until yesterday. The leg has a, like big scab all the way around the leg. I gave her (?) a bath and soaked her leg to loosen up the scab to see what was wrong with her leg. After I blow dried her I got a really good light and a pair of tweezers. I pulled the scab off, it didn't seem to bother her. It seemed like it was more nerve racking on me than on her. I saw something white in the wound and worried that it might be bone but it didn't seem deep enough to be the bone. I finally got hold of it and thought it was a piece of string. I really, honestly didn't remember putting a rubber band around her leg. My son asked me about it and I told him that I hadn't. Well, I pulled it out of the wound and cut it. It came out and there is a little blood, not much.

Can I use peroxide on the wound? What else can I do for her?
I am copying and pasting this under emergencies also. Thanks for any help.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Thanks. I have heard horror stories of broodies starving on the nest, so I make her at least eat a scrambled egg a day. She is inside in a tote, like I do with all of my broodies, so I take her out in the morning to relieve herself and eat. She wont eat off the nest at all. She scratches in the grass and pecks but when I put food in front of her off nest she just runs off and clucks. I put her back on the nest, let her settle in, and she will inhale scrambled eggs. She must be drinking because her stool is very loose, like liquid. She has energy too. Would a scrambled egg or two a day be enough food for her during her brood? This is the first time she wont eat crumbles brooding. SHe is my first hen to not eat crumbles while brooding for that matter. 

Try boiling some pasta , mix raw egg through and chop a sardine in. Eggs are a good source of protein. I also boil them and push them through the wire , just saves time. Corn fed chooks usually end up with all kinds of dietary deficiencies and you run the risk of impacted crop if you feed too much sunflower seed.
Broodiies do go into ' shut down ' and will lose condition, just be sure that there is fresh water and feed close by.
It's not natural for broody to be handled, so she is simply guarding her eggs against you.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Unfortunately, I missed taking a rubber band off the leg of my 8-9 week old Silkie and the feather grew over it and I didn't see a problem until yesterday. The leg has a, like big scab all the way around the leg. I gave her (?) a bath and soaked her leg to loosen up the scab to see what was wrong with her leg. After I blow dried her I got a really good light and a pair of tweezers. I pulled the scab off, it didn't seem to bother her. It seemed like it was more nerve racking on me than on her. I saw something white in the wound and worried that it might be bone but it didn't seem deep enough to be the bone. I finally got hold of it and thought it was a piece of string. I really, honestly didn't remember putting a rubber band around her leg. My son asked me about it and I told him that I hadn't. Well, I pulled it out of the wound and cut it. It came out and there is a little blood, not much.

Can I use peroxide on the wound? What else can I do for her?
I am copying and pasting this under emergencies also. Thanks for any help.

Unfortunately this is quite common , I have had one get string tied round one leg , since then the string from top of feed bags goes in my pocket.
You can wash down with peroxide but only in the initial treatment. It's not recommended that you use after that as it can retard the healing process.
I use Terramycin (pink eye ) antibiotic spray on all open wounds. A triple antibiotic cream or vetericyne spray will also do the trick.