The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Melabella]

Mumsy,

I so enjoyed reading your article, perhaps one day I will join the ranks of egg hatchers. I'm just trying to get to the point of all my girls laying!

Best line that made me laugh with myself ....

"Yes. I have been known to stare at eggs. I should be sweeping the floor and dusting the china but staring at eggs for twenty-one days seems to be what I do best."

 

[delisha]

Aoxa,
I am so glad you are joining for the Easter hatch.

I do have a question about that since you and Mumsy have hatched silkies. The silkies should be off the turner on Tuesday, but, my other eggs are not due to come off till Wednesday. Do you think it would be OK to take the silkies off on Wednesday? Or better for me to do everyone on Tuesday? My temps and humidity have been holding well. I am 99.8 and 40% humidity. Are silkies prone to have hatching problems? I have heard they will quit on day 18. Right now I have no idea, I have not candled since day 10. I will candle before I put them in lock down. I have 10 silkie eggs. It would be wonderful to get 10 in to lock down. I rarely loose a chick if it gets into lock down. I could turn off the turner on Tuesday, and up my humidity on Wednesday or even Thursday. My air cells are perfect and are not calling for more humidity. They are not small, so I do not have large chicks and they will not have problems turning. The shells on the silkies are very thin so they should not have a problem getting out...What do you think?

 

[Sally8]

Thank you delisha. I didn't wait long enough for the water to get still. I will do the float test again on this egg and two others I'm not sure about the day before lock down. Weighing is a great idea. Need to look in the back of the cupboard and find my scale.

 

[Elliemae 77]

I also have 10 to go on lockdown on Tuesday. 5 Murray and 5 bbs Orps. I love hatch day!

 

[delisha]

OK..someone asked for deep litter pictures..The coop has frozen poop, and normally I would stir it in, however it is frozen solid on surfaces and you now get to see a dirty coop.

I forked down to the floor here so you can see how it looks at the bottom. It is a bit darker and it is broken down. It is so cold out that when I forked it over it steamed.
..


The deep litter is uneven in the duck pen so i can keep that poop door open. I do close it at night sometimes if we get a southern wind.



The broody box on the upper right hand corner is about 6 inches off the floor, with the deep littler it looks even with the floor.

 

[Mumsy]

I also have 10 to go on lockdown on Tuesday. 5 Murray and 5 bbs Orps. I love hatch day!

Lock down for me is Tuesday night. Or I could go Wednesday morning. If those pesky three questionable eggs don't make the muster on Tuesday, I will also have 10. Johnny babies!

 

[delisha]

Quote: wow we all are going about the same time..what temps are you running? Humidity?

 

[delisha]

Quote: wow we all are going about the same time..what temps are you running? Humidity?

Mumsy, can you answer my last silkie question too please

 

[delisha]

I also have 10 to go on lockdown on Tuesday. 5 Murray and 5 bbs Orps. I love hatch day!

I also have 5 Orps too
What are Murrays?

 

[Mumsy]

Mumsy, can you answer my last silkie question too please

My current temp is 100 degrees and 33% humidity with dry. Temp just climbed that tiny bit today. We have sunshine and warmer temps outside. No moisture added at all. Sometimes it dips to 99 degrees but pretty steady for fifteen days.


My experience with hatching Silkies is they are more fragile. I had a die off at eighteenth day this last hatch. They were not my own eggs. I have no idea how the breeders were raised or fed or how the eggs were collected or stored. They weren't shipped eggs. It was the worse Silkie hatch I've ever had. On the other hand, when I incubated my own silkie eggs I had a better live hatch rate. The shells do seem thinner on Silkie eggs over all. I find incubating Silkie eggs the most challenging to incubate and yet the most satisfying when it works well.