There is A LOT that goes into hatching Silkie chicks. It first starts with the coop mates. They have to be in great shape health wise to mate. Silkies are not owned for their egg production, they may only lay 2-3 a week. INCUBATION: I hover over my incubators like a nervous new momma! Making sure they’re all rotating properly and constantly adjusting the humidity. I usually candle at 7 and at day
18. Sometimes the egg was infertile or it dies in the process. On day 18 they go into lockdown where you don’t open the incubator until they’ve all hatched, which doesn’t always happen. Sometimes a baby comes out the wrong end or on the side and you have to “assist” and pray you only peel the shell and outer membrane. If you peel the inner membrane you have a bloody mess and it runs the risk of the chick being weak or not surviving at all. I don’t sleep much during hatch days. Some chicks if left to long in the incubator get shrink wrapped and die. So, a constant vigil is necessary for me. They fluff up in the incubator for 12-24 hours then they’re moved to the brooder. The brooder needs to maintain at 95 degrees the first week then had to be reduced 5 degrees down every week after that which can be tricky with them moving around and getting bigger. Sometimes you have chicks with curled feet, which you have to tape to straighten them. Or splayed/straddle leg, in this case you have to put a band on them to keep their legs/hips tight. Both only take a few days to fix. Then food and water. Not just any food, chick starter with protein and electrolytes in the water. Silkies are known to have Vitamin deficiencies so I watch very carefully throughout the first week for any signs then give them the proper vitamins. Some chicks thrive others not so much. Some are weak and just can’t make it. Changing the brooder paper is done twice a day so they don’t sneeze from the dust they kick up with their food. They’re fed fresh food three times a day and they tend to poo in their water so that is changed twice a day. Little butts are trimmed to keep pasty butt to a minimum. Pasty butt gunks up their vent with poo and if you can’t poo…another constant vigil. I check all butts twice a day. Pictures so you can see these beautiful babies. This is just the first week…. all to bring you these amazing fluff balls called Silkies. I don’t do this for the money. No one makes money doing this, a least not that I know of in the three years I’ve been hatching. It’s for everything you’ve read above to bring this beautiful breed to life.
