Silkies - They’re simply SPECTACULAR!

[Silkie Princess]

I am actually going to make a safety hole in the silkie egg left in the incubator. It has internally pipped. I can post photos of the procedure if anyone is interested.

That would be great! Thanks!

 

[LadiesAndJane]

That would be great! Thanks!

Half to wait for the teenage daughter to wake up to assist!
I usually wait until it has been at least 6 hours from the time I noticed the internal pip.

 

[LynnaePB]

Five Polkies and a Silkie in the dryer. Can you tell which one is the silkie?
Difficult to tell. The silkie chicks are a bit smaller and looks like only the Polkies inherited the vaulted skull from their mama.
I need to get a closer look at each one of them later today.
(The silkie is the middle chick on the left side of the group photo)
The one standing in the food is also a silkie. This is a dessert plate for size reference.
12 out of 13 hatched. Looks like the last one was DIS. It had pipped on the wrong side and I guess was unable to rotate. They all had safety holes, so oxygen was not an issue.
Anyway 12 little babies now, six in the dryer as shown and six have moved over to the brooder. First went over yesterday afternoon and have already figured out how to eat and drink. All in all seven Polkies and five Silkies hatched. The Polkies are about a 50-50 split either black or paint and the silkies are all some variation of paint.
Once they are more on their feet, we’ll take them out for a photo shoot!
There is one of each still in the incubator that are officially supposed to hatch Monday but I think may hatch tomorrow.
Next set due to hatch next weekend.View attachment 2867889View attachment 2867887

Oh goodness look at those cuties, they are all so adorable!!!

So many little paints, looks like they got some cute spots too (I love seeing the spots at hatch)! I can't wait to see what my little paint's spots will end up looking like. The first 15 are due Wednesday and the next 6 (since I had one quit) are due on the 24th.

I bet the safety hole procedure pictures would be a great help to a lot of people. I probably overdo it with safety holes but I haven't found they hurt the ones who don't end up needing it. They are definitely a good tool for very hands on hatchers.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Oh goodness look at those cuties, they are all so adorable!!!

So many little paints, looks like they got some cute spots too (I love seeing the spots at hatch)! I can't wait to see what my little paint's spots will end up looking like. The first 15 are due Wednesday and the next 6 (since I had one quit) are due on the 24th.

I bet the safety hole procedure pictures would be a great help to a lot of people. I probably overdo it with safety holes but I haven't found they hurt the ones who don't end up needing it. They are definitely a good tool for very hands on hatchers.

Can't wait to see photos of your littles!
I was suprised that all the silkies came out paint, I was expecting some to be black as I expected Amai (silkies' mom) to have one copy of black genetically, though I really have no idea of her parentage. I expect some of these paints will end up with some other colors coming through when they feather in as well, due to the partridge. These are all going to pet homes, so the only requirement is "fluffy".
I have been making safety holes for awhile, but it was actually you @LynnaePB that convinced me it was really OK to do and does not cause any harm if done correctly.

 

[Fluffy Lambs]

No such thing as a stupid question!
A safety hole is a small hole usually made at the top of the aircell AFTER the chick has internally pipped. I only do this with eggs I am worried about or are high value. I use a very small drill bit and hand turn it to make a small hole.
There is debate among many on the need for these, but I have learned after losing a few chicks after they internally pipped, to do this as a precaution. It is not recommended for folks that are new to incubating chicks, as it requires that eggs are candled AFTER lockdown.
I chose to do it with the silkies only, as they were from pullet eggs and very small, only about 32 grams in weight.

Ooh I bet I could do this!! I probably sound like I'm bragging but I think I probably could! I candle during lockdown just so I can see the little beaks moving around!

 

[ForTheLoveOfSilkies]

Aww I'm so sorry the little one is developing a cross beak, I hope it stays mild!

I've dealt with a few cross beaks. The ones I had who started developing it very young unfortunately progressed to have the most severe cases where culling or tube feeding were the only option to avoid starvation (I'm sure this isn't always the case and hopefully it won't be for your little one). These poor little ones had the top and bottom beak at about a 90 degree angle after only a few weeks of it starting. Having chosen to tube feed one (a little pullet) I don't think I'd do it again. She never thrived as well as the rest despite my best efforts and she sadly passed away after aspirating too much water when a sudden hard rain hit (we got to her within minutes of it starting but it was too much for her and she passed several hours later).

With less severe cases (mild-moderate) they can often live a relatively or even completely normal life. Making sure they have a deep food dish for the moderate cases should be enough for them to eat alright by allowing them to scoop the food up.

For now you are probably fine just watching to see how she/he does. If in several months she/he is still keeping up well with the others and isn't lagging behind in size then the cross beak probably won't hold him/her back too much.

I've also heard crossbeak can be either genetic or caused by issues during incubation or development. Since it isn't really possibly to tell for sure which one it might be avoiding breeding would probably be best so as not to risk passing it on. Cross beak and also a milder form where the beak veers to one side but is still aligned is in my experience a somewhat common issue in silkies as I've had it cropping up in several different lines I've hatched from. I've had one or two cross beaks hatch from my own flock now as well as a few more that had the milder form but thankfully those were never severe enough to require special care to thrive.

Thanks for the info!
If this little guy starts developing it bad I'll cull but for now I'll leave him be. Although if it is a boy I will cull young anyway I'll have to wait a few months to find out. I don't think it would be easy to rehome a crossbeak chicken.
I have already a disabled hen with bent toe (she can't get up ramps so has a special roost on the ground) ..she lays well but long eggs so I can tell which ones are hers to eat and not use for breeding. I was going to rehome her but not sure if the buyer would care for her as she needs so decide I'll keep her.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Here as promised photo essay of using a small drill bit to make a safety hole.
Start by getting everything ready. I use boiling water to sterilize the drill bit and also use a large bowl with a small towel and boiling water to create a warm steam bath that I hold the egg over. I also use a heat lamp that I have clamped to the back of the dining room chair and this helps create a similar environment as the incubator. Still important to work as quickly as possible but also not too fast as to not be careful.
I use the same set up when assisting hatches. Hope the photos are clear enough with the red lamp in the background.
First verify that the egg has indeed internally pipped and the location of the beak. Very gently apply pressure and rotate the drill bit. It’s important not to press too hard or you can crack the whole egg. I elected with this egg also to drill a second hole just above where I saw the beak.

 

[Fluffy Lambs]

Here as promised photo essay of using a small drill bit to make a safety hole.
Start by getting everything ready. I use boiling water to sterilize the drill bit and also use a large bowl with a small towel and boiling water to create a warm steam bath that I hold the egg over. I also use a heat lamp that I have clamped to the back of the dining room chair and this helps create a similar environment as the incubator. Still important to work as quickly as possible but also not too fast as to not be careful.
I use the same set up when assisting hatches. Hope the photos are clear enough with the red lamp in the background.
First verify that the egg has indeed internally pipped and the location of the beak. Very gently apply pressure and rotate the drill bit. It’s important not to press too hard or you can crack the whole egg. I elected with this egg also to drill a second hole just above where I saw the beak.
View attachment 2868192View attachment 2868193View attachment 2868194View attachment 2868195View attachment 2868197View attachment 2868198View attachment 2868199View attachment 2868200View attachment 2868201View attachment 2868202

Thank you so much for doing this!

 

[LynnaePB]

Thanks for the info!
If this little guy starts developing it bad I'll cull but for now I'll leave him be. Although if it is a boy I will cull young anyway I'll have to wait a few months to find out. I don't think it would be easy to rehome a crossbeak chicken.
I have already a disabled hen with bent toe (she can't get up ramps so has a special roost on the ground) ..she lays well but long eggs so I can tell which ones are hers to eat and not use for breeding. I was going to rehome her but not sure if the buyer would care for her as she needs so decide I'll keep her.
View attachment 2868158

Around here I've found my pullet silkies with issues whether cross beak or wry tail are actually pretty easy to rehome. The boys are hard to rehome even with no issues unfortunately. I think sometimes the "special" girls actually turn out to be peoples favorites as pets.

Here as promised photo essay of using a small drill bit to make a safety hole.
Start by getting everything ready. I use boiling water to sterilize the drill bit and also use a large bowl with a small towel and boiling water to create a warm steam bath that I hold the egg over. I also use a heat lamp that I have clamped to the back of the dining room chair and this helps create a similar environment as the incubator. Still important to work as quickly as possible but also not too fast as to not be careful.
I use the same set up when assisting hatches. Hope the photos are clear enough with the red lamp in the background.
First verify that the egg has indeed internally pipped and the location of the beak. Very gently apply pressure and rotate the drill bit. It’s important not to press too hard or you can crack the whole egg. I elected with this egg also to drill a second hole just above where I saw the beak.
View attachment 2868192View attachment 2868193View attachment 2868194View attachment 2868195View attachment 2868197View attachment 2868198View attachment 2868199View attachment 2868200View attachment 2868201View attachment 2868202

These are great! I love the detailed pictures of the process and set up!!

 

[ForTheLoveOfSilkies]

Puffs first is out, another pipping I see and 3rd one nothing yet..
These eggs are from Chino or Char hens and Biscuit or Cookie roosters. I was expecting more partridge but I guess the dark colour in mother is more dominant?




Chino in background (was pecking chicks, Smokey isn't very protective unfortunately)

And this is Char just in broody jail at mo. 2 broodies are enough at this time .. I think she's trying to hatch her roosting piece of wood