The 8th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-a-long!!!!

[Cynthia12]

Can't sleep. Sick tummy. Haven't had the stomach flu in years! What? Hope this is gone by morning.

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Can't sleep.  Sick tummy.  Haven't had the stomach flu in years!  What?   Hope this is gone by morning.  

Oh no Cyn, hope it passes soon

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

:yiipchick Welcome to all our new members of the HAL! :yiipchick

 

[Penny Hen]

Hat are the optimal requirements for heat and humidity, etc for ducks and then quail?

Sincerely,
Your Fellow Homesteader,
Glaseria

...

Sorry to not answer right away. I have been working some killer overtime. This is not the detailed version but when I looked into it last year if you are hatching chicken and quail together then it does better if it is bantam chickens.instead of full sized chickens. With duck eggs you have to maintain a higher humidity that will drown the quail. You can get around it hatching ducks with chickens you mist the duck eggs daily with water. Quail hatch better with bantam chicken eggs.

 

[orrpeople]

...

Idk what your flock consists of but we have silkies with our large fowl flock also OEGB and a golden laced sebright hen. Granted most if them were raised with silkies but usually I think flocks can adjust well to silkies.

If you do decide to give them a go they're great birds especially if handled a lot as chicks. I would consider keeping two or three together especially for introducing them to the flock as they are different and could be picked on keep and eye out for that but silkies are great and some strains of them are pretty good layers. We had one silkie that we lost to a predator last year that except for being broody once that spring had layed us an egg a day all through the winter but maybe for a week or two. She was an amazing layer if course the eggs were smaller than the large fowl but they're not terribly little once they get going.

Our silkies also do well in the heat and cold despite most people saying they're delicate. They are also our only birds that winter 2015(-40* in southern Wisconsin) didn't get frost bite. Even our rose combed breeds like our SLW roo got a little frost bite that winter.

Hope this helps.

Yes! Any input is greatly appreciated! Right now I am thinking they will probably have to be "non free range" because of our hawk issues. I have also heard they are very difficult to sex until they're much older. Thoughts on this, since I'm a certified genius at hatching mostly cockerels!!

 

[orrpeople]

Awesome!  Look at it this way...you'll hardly have to start your incubator if you have Silkies...lol. I have Silkie crosses...and 3 of them are broody right now.

I have heard about their famous broodiness! What are your silkies crossed with?

 

[Daethen]

I have 2 silkie hens that are sitting on 9 eggs between them right now. The hens were hatched after the HAL last year! They are super sweet birds. I have mine in a chicken tractor and every other day or so I move the coop so they can "free range" in safety.

 

[dan26552]

Congratulations Dan
Hi welcome! e
What will you be setting?
Welcome to the thread! :yiipchick
What will you be setting?
Sorry you have not had much luck with your incubator What kind of incubator is it?

Thanks. I've got eight now.

 

[Madonna m]

will be setting 24 run of the coup chicken eggs this year. last year over half were hens, hoping for better hen turn out this year.

 

[Cynthia12]

will be setting 24 run of the coup chicken eggs this year. last year over half were hens, hoping for better hen turn out this year.