okay um... just candled the eggs. I noticed that I have two of them sitting with the aircell on the bottomis this bad? can I flip them over still? They are ones that both sides look identical so I never even checked to see which one had the aircell. One is sitting right and may possibly have development but still too soon.
You should handle them immediately, otherwise they will be very flighty, well, runnyFirst time Silkie raiser here! (got 4 total, 3 white, 1 Buff). Was wondering because they dont lay a lot do they go broody? Also at what age can you start handling them? they are so TINY
Yes they will go broody.. a trait some people have them for and they are usually great mothers. I handle mine daily from hatching. when theyare tiny i put my hand in the brooder and they will jump on my hand and move to picking them up. Just always do it quietly and gently to start and they will love it .First time Silkie raiser here! (got 4 total, 3 white, 1 Buff). Was wondering because they dont lay a lot do they go broody? Also at what age can you start handling them? they are so TINY
Thankfully it is not crooked, just too long on lower beak. But I am going to work him over to wet then FF
yes, silkies should stay on starter/grower their entire life. They need the higher protein, between 20-22% and just supplement with oyster shells. You could always give your whole flock multi-flock pellets and then supplement with the oyster shell on the side. They will pick out what they need for calcium. This is what I used to feed: http://blueseal.com/product/?id=134 but some people choose purinaThanks for the info!!!And your saying to keep them on Start&Grow their whole life? Cause my other regular chickens will need Layena..
Yes, I would definitely flip it.okay um... just candled the eggs. I noticed that I have two of them sitting with the aircell on the bottomis this bad? can I flip them over still? They are ones that both sides look identical so I never even checked to see which one had the aircell. One is sitting right and may possibly have development but still too soon.
At least half of my silkies lay 6 days a week.First time Silkie raiser here! (got 4 total, 3 white, 1 Buff). Was wondering because they dont lay a lot do they go broody? Also at what age can you start handling them? they are so TINY
Well, I was wrong... I checked under mama and counted 5 chicks. They are all blues and really cute. Mama stole one egg, so I took it back and added it to my incubator. The two left seems to be dead but not sure yet. I left them just in case. My other broody is sitting in 3 eggs and I might give her 3 more eggs from my incubator when they will be at the point of hatching. My "wanna be" broody ended up in my broody area and I added some hardware cloth on top of the pine shaving to make it uncomfortable. She was definitely unhappy, but it's ok, she will get over it in a few days, at least I hope lol.
That's good advice.You should handle them immediately, otherwise they will be very flighty, well, runnythey can't fly well. You should give them starter/grower or multiflock their whole life with oystershell on the side once they start laying because layer pellets can damage their kidneys(because as you stated they don't lay well...). Also, a silkie will try to hatch anything or die tryingThey are EXTREMELY broody and you may find yourself breaking a few at some point. Some are actually decent layers with a good sized egg, but some like mine are very inconsistent. Also, incase you ask, it will be nearly impossible to tell their genders until at least 9 weeks, usually much longer but some are easier than others.
That's the feed I just switched mine on.
