ellasflock Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 Hi everyone so I candled the eggs today and I have two silkies fertile eggs, so the shells are quite easy to see through when you candle them. Although when i went to candle them, I noticed they both appear completely different even though they should be developing at the same rate. Could you let me know how many days both seem to be at and if they look alive?! Silkie Egg 1 is the more Darkened egg, that you cant really see anything inside.(3 images) Silkie egg 2: is clear to see inside the egg and a darkened figure in the centre. (2 images) thank you!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 How exciting !! I can definitely see something in the last 2 photos. I think @mullethunter had some fancy candling torch to see inside her eggs. Sadly I don't know about hatching eggs but I'm sure someone will be able to answer your questions. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellasflock Posted February 4, 2021 Author Share Posted February 4, 2021 Thank you for replying! I am in real need of some answers because it is my first time hatching I’m worried that I will only get 1 chick which isn’t great as I can’t bring up one chick alone☹️ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 Yes I bought a fancy egg candler because I found it really difficult to do with my iPhone and I worried I was going to drop the eggs. I’ve done this with 3 lots of eggs so am definitely no expert so please don’t take my word as gospel. But, I’m really sorry, if I had to say (and it’s VERY hard to say from those photos) as far as I can see I’d say the first egg - the dark one - is probably right for 17 days or thereabouts - he chick would be just about filling the egg so you wouldn’t expect to see much. I’m sorry because I think the second one probably hasn’t developed much at all. Have a Google of what you’d expect to see - there’s plenty of info out there. And maybe message Lewis on here - he’s done this lots and knows loads. You need to lock down your incubator tomorrow, and if that second egg hasn’t developed it would be best to take it out - the last thing you want is a chick hatching and then breaking an egg that has just been warming up for 3 weeks. This nearly happened to me (I twice thought that chicks that had internally pipped weren’t going to make it out of their shells alive but then they did) I was able to get a couple of day old chicks locally by asking around on Facebook poultry groups. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellasflock Posted February 4, 2021 Author Share Posted February 4, 2021 Yes I did think, that out of the two the second one was probably the worse of. Thank you for your advice, what do you mean by putting the incubator in lockdown? Sorry, I am very new to this all☺️ Would it be okay if I were to get a day old Silkie from somewhere else and then once my silkie has hatched, mix them because I don’t want to raise only one because it will get awfully lonely? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 Unfortunately the second egg looks like the embryo has died mid-term. The reason this happens is bacterial infection getting through pores in the shell. Did you wash the eggs with egg sanitiser before they went in? We had a problem with our first hatch and ended up with only one chick, so did as you are suggesting and got more chicks from a breeder. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellasflock Posted February 5, 2021 Author Share Posted February 5, 2021 Ahh, no I didn’t because I didn’t realise until after I put them in that they need to be cleaned. I did swap incubators half way through because my other incubator wasn’t matching the temperature on the themometer so maybe it only started to develop on the day I put it into the second incubator, as the first one only got to about 35 C. Is it possible that one of the eggs started to develop from the beginning and the second one only started to develop in the new incubator? Because If that’s the case the egg should look about 13 days into incubation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 Think that's pretty unlikely Ellasflock, as one has developed OK. The photos look just as I'd expect a dead embryo to look. It takes about 10 or 12 days for the bacteria to multiply sufficiently. You are going to have to 'lockdown' the incubator tomorrow anyway, so sadly you can't risk a bad egg in there. Lockdown means stopping egg turning, lowering the temperature to 37C, raising the humidity to 75% and do not open the lid. If you open the lid the humidity will drop and the chick may get stuck to the internal membrane. Katie Thear's book is worth getting. 'Incubation. A guide to hatching and rearing'. ISBN 0-9061-3725-X. When we bought ours it was only £6.95, so money well spent. it has a 'What went wrong?' section and it does mention 5 reasons for early death of embryos, which your photo could be showing. Not a problem we've ever experienced though. The aforementioned bacterial infection is listed under 'Bad eggs' and says it comes with a bad smell as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellasflock Posted February 5, 2021 Author Share Posted February 5, 2021 Okay Thank you for the advice. I will check one more time tonight to see if there is any movement or sign of life, if not then I will have to search for a pal for my chick. I will definitely get the book, thank you for recommending it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 Lockdown means that you need to stop the eggs from turning and not open the incubator until the egg has hatched. You may need to increase the humidity too if it has been low to make sure the membrane doesn’t dry out once the chick starts to hatch. Yes you will be fine getting a day old chick from anywhere to keep your one company - I’ve done it twice with great success. Keep us posted... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellasflock Posted February 5, 2021 Author Share Posted February 5, 2021 Hi okay thank you for the advice! Lockdown will commence tomorrow morning first thing! I actually candled them today and for some reason the one that looked like it had died has suddenly filled the shell?!🤨 It also doesn’t smell or look bad so I think I’m going to leave it inside for a few more days to see if it hatches because I got a shock when I looked today! And I was positive it had died yesterday. I guess we will have to wait and see! I have called a few places and no one seems to have any Silkie chicks so I am depending on it to hatch to be honest or I will have to travel quite far which isn’t ideal in the current situation obviously! thank you!! 🤣 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 On 2/5/2021 at 8:38 PM, ellasflock said: I will have to travel quite far which isn’t ideal in the current situation obviously! I was lucky that I got my chicks 10 minutes away in the car. The lady I got them from said that you are allowed to travel because it is for the animals' well being. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellasflock Posted February 7, 2021 Author Share Posted February 7, 2021 Oh I didn’t realise that, I will find out tomorrow if they both hatch because tomorrow is day 21, so if I only end up with one then I will be happy to drive to get another chick! Thank you for letting me know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 (edited) They don’t always hatch bang on the right day, so don’t give up straight away if it doesn’t happen tomorrow. Have a good look and listen to the egg now (without opening the incubator) - they often start to rock and roll about as the chick gets into position to hatch, and once it has pipped internally you may hear it cheeping. Fingers crossed 🤞🏻 Edited February 7, 2021 by mullethunter 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellasflock Posted February 7, 2021 Author Share Posted February 7, 2021 Yes I think that is the case! I noticed that one of the eggs had completely turned, at first I thought that I had accidentally knocked it but after reading this I now know it’s getting ready for hatch! I will send a few photos when they hatch, either tomorrow or Tuesday hopefully! Thank you for the advice! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 Has anything happened yet ? 😊 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellasflock Posted February 9, 2021 Author Share Posted February 9, 2021 I was just about to update everyone! So annoyingly not, but I am not that surprised because I did have a few temperature problems at the start so they are probably still developing. But the eggs seem to have moved around a bit and I don’t have an automatic turner so I think it is getting ready! I will wait a couple more days but I have a feeling they could start pipping anytime soon! ☺️ I also think I miss counted the days because I realised I shouldn’t count the day I put them in, so today is actually day 21. 🤣 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 You are quite right Ellasflock, the eggs go in on day zero. We've had them hatch as late as day 23 but I have heard of later. If they were slightly too cold initially they will probably be late. How did you turn the eggs? Did you have to open the incubator and turn by hand? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellasflock Posted February 9, 2021 Author Share Posted February 9, 2021 (edited) Well I didn’t have an automatic Turner but then I changed incubators and turned it on but it didn’t work so I had to manually turn them for a few days and then the Turner decided to work 😂 now I have switched it off because of the lockdown, which someone kindly informed me about otherwise I wouldn’t have known! I turned them about 4 times a day? Edited February 9, 2021 by ellasflock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 Strictly speaking they should be turned at least 3 times or better 5 times each day throughout least 90 degrees, backwards and forwards, from the start to at least day 14. The odd number is so that the eggs don't lie in the same place over the long nighttime period I think? These are points not mentioned in the aforementioned book surprisingly, unless I have missed them? It does mention low hatch rates if you don't turn, but doesn't mention it's because the chick can get stuck to the side of the egg, unless I've missed that as well? Keep us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellasflock Posted February 9, 2021 Author Share Posted February 9, 2021 Yes, well I have a really good book by Gail Damerow, which i recommend and it says that if you don’t turn them then they can get stuck to the side of the egg and will probably hatch disabled. I think I turned them correctly hopefully, and the egg Turner eventually started to work and seemed to almost jolt the eggs around in a circle every hour or so. Apparently this is normal for the Brinsea incubator so I trust it works okay. I think I will expect them to hatch by Thursday considering my incubator that I used for the first week was only reaching 34 degrees 😬 luckily they look as though they have developed, hopefully they both hatch rather than only one. I will keep everyone updated when I see the first pip! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 I will be working in school on Thursday so will have to look for any updates when I get back. I can't wait to hear what happens 😊 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellasflock Posted February 9, 2021 Author Share Posted February 9, 2021 Great! I have actually just gone to the incubator and can hear a chick peeping!!! 🥳🥳 hopefully this means hatching will be very soon. I can’t tell if they are both peeping or just one because it is quite quiet, but I can definitely hear something🥳 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 That’s so exciting!!!! I spent ages by the incubator tapping on it and whistling to the chick when it started to cheep 🐣 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellasflock Posted February 9, 2021 Author Share Posted February 9, 2021 How funny! That is exactly what I am doing right now🤣🤣 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
