Omlet cube and run

[debbiedoobs]

Hi, I have had silkie chickens now for around a year now and absolutely adore them!! I had the horrible experience of losing one recently, only after her dying i have learned that she was a gold top silkie. I am now looking to buy another 2 hens, I have contacted so many peolpe from various websites in my area and am beginning to think i might not be able to get any. The problem seems to be the colour i want as I am wanting anything but the colour of Black, Blue, white or gold as i already have them. The younger the better as i want to tame them as much as i can. I live in lancashire an would be very grateful if anyone can point me in the right direction.

Thanks in advance, Debbie.

[jimnpaula]

Hi Debbie, welcome to the forum!

 

Lots of friendly people here with plenty of advice. Could you list the websites you've tried so that you get some different suggestions? Hopefully people from your area will be able to help then.

 

When you've made enough posts (I think it's 5) we love seeing chook pictures

 

Paula

[mimi5]

Hi and welcome This forum is fantastic for support and advice!! Sorry to hear about your girl that you lost I have suffered a few losses and it is very distressing

 

Well just a thought but as silkies are prone to go broody.....you could get some hatching eggs in a colour of your chioce? Of course you will get boys as well as girls so pros and cons!! You don't speak of your set up?? Do you have room for a few more?? Best to add more than one at a time and intros can be tricky!!!

 

I hatched last year and it was a lovely experience. I have 3 girls from that hatch (I was able to re-home 4 boys )

 

Keep us posted!

[debbiedoobs]

I think that i may have finally found some! I'm going to look tomorrow!! They have White, black, Gold and partridge. Think i'll be going for 2 partridge 9-10wks. I will be keeping them in my porch for a while and introduce them with the others during the day and seperate them at night.

I thought about hatching my own eggs as Claudia my Blue silkie is currently broody, but i'm just bothered about being stuck with the cocks. I have a very large garden that they free range around.They have their little coop/house that has room for only 7 bantams, I would have more but my husband doesn't.....yet. (Over time i will gradually convince him, lol).

Hope i come home with my new additions to the family tomorrow, just need to start thinking bout names......

[debbiedoobs]

Hello all,

Just an update bout the chicks, we got 2 partridge silkies at 10 wks. We named them Connie and Susan and they're doing great, such little cuties!!!!!!!!!! I also we decided to get some hatching eggs, we paid quite alot for them from a local well known breeder with lots of awards etc. We put them under our broody hen on the 25th may and 21 days later we are still waiting for them to hatch. A friend of the family recomended we lightly spray them today with luke warm water to soften the shell, so we did. A few hours later i checked on her only to find her covered in egg! The poor thing had it all over her head, Looks like one of the un developed eggs burst under her. We decided not to attempt to candle them as we wernt sure exacty what to do so we are unaware of the development. Does anyone know if silkies take longer to hatch? I'm really panicking that none will hatch, even if its one for her sake as shes so protective,

Debbie x

Edited June 18, 2013 by Guest

[Luvachicken]

Welcome from me too.

I love the sound of the colours of your chickens and can't wait til you have enough posts so you can show us some pictures.

As for your husband not wanting anymore, he will soon succomb - I started with 3 and now have 6

[Redwing]

Dont spray the eggs any more, just leave the broody to it. no chicken's eggs take more than 21 days to hatch officially but unofficially any eggs can go over by a few days

 

Broodies will often eat the dud eggs during their sit

 

Keep the broody in the dark and quiet and see what happens

[debbiedoobs]

Still no chicks! ..........

[debbiedoobs]

Hello again, am I just being really impatient or should I be checking the eggs? Is there a way I can do it without damaging the chick if it is a chick?

[atsw]

If you don't have any hatchlings by tomorrow (day 24), I'm sorry, but I doubt you'll get any from the current batch of eggs . Very much longer and I suspect Mum will soon abandon them anyway, they tend to know when to give up.

 

Once you, or the broody hen, has decided enough if enough, it would be worth cracking open the eggs to see what is inside. If they are like a normal egg (i.e. yoke and white), they were infertile. if they were fertile, but failed to fully develop, then you'll either find a part developed embryo or something that looks more like a baby chick.

 

A completely failed hatch is very unlucky, but not that uncommon.

 

Andrew

[debbiedoobs]

Hi, thanks for the advice. To be honest im absolutely gutted bout it. I've been so excited bout them and for them to not hatch i feel like i've somehow done something wrong. I think that because i bought them from a top breeder i did not expect this to happen, especially how the 10 eggs cost me £40!!!!

[mimi5]

Oh dear! What a shame I think if you can face it break open the unhatched eggs ( be prepared it might be smelly and a tad unpleasant!) and if none had developed go back to the breeder as they were infertile. I think you've been unlucky....but you could have eneded up with lots of boys!!!

 

Maybe try and source some chicks to raise...but with silkies you will have to wait and see how many turn out to be boys.....of course you might want a boy!

 

How are all your others doing??

[debbiedoobs]

Think i have just been unlucky! I've already contacted the breeder and im waiting for a reply, hopefully i can get some more eggs seen as i have 5 broody chickens at the moment!lol. Think if i do get some more eggs it may be wise to put another one of girls on them? Or shall i let Pinky (current hen sat on unhatched eggs) sit on them so she gets her chicks? The newest girlies Connie and Susan are doin really well and are absolutely gorgeous little things. Connie is a bearded partridge silkie and is so cute!Susan is a non bearded and has such a pretty face with bright blue cheeks! Will put some pics on when i figure out how! lol x

[debbiedoobs]

Hi again, still no chicks!! Spoken to the dealer and he says the fertility is spot on and has advised we candle them. There were 2-3 completely clear, 1-2 with small amount of growth and the rest i was unsure as they looked like they had somethin big in with an air sac at top. There was 1 with and air sac at the side. If there is a chick in ready to hatch is there anythin i can do to help it out?

[debbiedoobs]

So...things get weirder and weirder. Tonight i plucked up the courage to crack open the eggs and they all were undeveloped, with no blood, just watery goo! I've looked on the development chart and does that mean they stopped at age 3-4 days? They didn't smell really, just a bit off but not eggy. So why would they all not develop to at least 6 days if the broody didnt leave her nest?

[Chortle Chook]

Hello debbiedoobs. What a shame about those eggs. I suspect that the Silkie cockerel is not doing his stuff. I have a Silkie cockerel and gave some eggs away to a couple of friends (I did not sell them) but none were firtile.

 

Your partridge Silkies, Connie and Susan sound delightful. Really Silkies only come officially in gold, black, white, blue or partridge but there are some unofficial colours about. I've seen red and that is a very pretty colour indeed, and also I've seen cuckoo which is sweet but possibly not as pretty as the blue. I'd be inclined to put a 'wanted' notice up on the Practical Poultry forum and look for a red You could possibly get a POL one as I've never found Silkies at all difficult to integrate unlike bigger chooks.

 

Also, have you thought of a 'Showgirl' - a rather special sort of Silkie. Some people on here have them and they are to my eye adorable, but admittedly not to everyone's taste. I think if you did a search on this forum, you'd see some pictures.

[debbiedoobs]

Hi, just to let everyone know that i got some more eggs after my un hatched egg disaster and have got myself 1 very cute lavender silkie!! Woo hoo!! We got another 10 eggs and on sat we got our first cheeps!! At this point we were so excited and were thinking that we would have more...... By Monday lily (our new mummy) was starting to get agitated and was beginning to abandon the nest so she could look after the adorable little bundle of fluff. I quickly took the eggs and candled them and saw that none were alive. I decided to open them again as i like to have answers for things and wanted to know what had happened. I must admit that it wasnt pleasant...... We had 5 completely empty, 1 at about a week of development, 1 at about 2 weeks development and 2 that were fully grown but not absorbed their yolk. So we have spent £80 on 20 eggs and happily got 1 lovely little lavender baby chick. We've decided that if she turns out to be a he we will still keep it and breed our own rather spending a small fortune buying the eggs from another breeder!!!!!!!!!! We will probably get an incubator this time so we can try and control things maybe a little better???? Does anyone have any advice about what kind of incubator i should start with?

[Luvachicken]

I'm sorry you have had such a bad time trying to hatch the eggs.

But I'm glad you finally got one little chick to watch grow and tame.

Don't forget to show us a picture

[Chortle Chook]

A lavender slikie - how very beautiful. I'm

And if it should be a 'he' you've still got something nice as my slikie boy is very tame and a total sweetheart. He is now 7 years old, is the perfect gent when it comes to making sure his girls have the best food and his crow is not all that loud, though it has never been perfect. He never manges the 'do' of the 'cock-a-doodle-do' - but then he has never worried about 'I do' with his hens so perhaps that is appropriate

 

Regarding the incubator, there are quite a few people on here who have had successful hatchings using one so there should be plenty of advice around, but you might get more views if you open a new post specifically on that subject. Just a thought

[debbiedoobs]

The chick is absolutely beautiful, I find myself watching it for hours at a time. I have posted a new question for incubator suggestions so hopefully someone will reply soon for me. Thanks x

[Chortle Chook]

Any more pictures of your little silkie babe?

[debbiedoobs]

Here are pics of Layla our new lavender silkie chick, one on her own and one with Mum Lily and Susan & Connie our now 5 month old silkies.

 

 

 

[Luvachicken]

Very sweet pictures.

[Chortle Chook]

How adorable! Such fluffy bundles

[debbiedoobs]

She's gorgeous. Noticed today that she is starting to get little random feathers from the top of her head. She's a little sweetheart too, only manage a cuddle every now and again as she had a very protective mum! My Partridge girlie's are bigger than some of the others now and won't be far off laying. Love my silkies x