How long for silkie eggs to hatch

Even the most experienced chicken breeder cannot tell if an unincubated egg is fertile just by looking at it, even if one cracks the shell to check the albumen and yolk.

Even store bought , unfertilized eggs have the chalaza. If an egg has not developed at all, this is not possible as the germinal disc which is the beginning of the developmental possibility of an egg begins to degrade if the egg is not viable upon being subjected to the heat and humidity of the incubator.

If it has partially developed then it is obviously fertile, but has become unviable and therefore, not the fault of a seller. A third myth is that a fertile egg will have a spot of blood at the joining of the albumen and yolk or on the yolk itself. Again, this is a common biological matter wherein tiny blood vessels in oviduct of the hen rupture during formation of the egg and have nothing to do with fertility status.

This always occurs when an egg is fertilized as it is the beginning of the possibility of a sound gestation. Clearly, the problem with relying on this method of assuring fertilization is that the germinal disc either develops into a zygote : a pre-embryotic stage of division and vessel building or it begins to break down with the application of the heat and humidity of the incubator or hen setting.

Therefore, unless you break each prior to incubating, you cannot view the germinal disc and that would obviously destroy the egg. They cannot be viewed with a candling as it would be nearly impossible to tell the germinal disc from the chalaza which always lies near it on the yolks inside the egg. As explained, many factors from the health and cleanliness of the hen to the handling and transportation environments and setting practices can influence the viability of an egg.

All eggs leave a responsible breeder as sound and fertile eggs fully capable of hatching if the circumstances are right.

Silkie roosters kept as pets can be lovely. However, if your goal is to have eggs from your hens to eat you may not enjoy them being fertilized, sending your Silkie into constant broodiness. Roosters will also tear up the flesh of hens and often leave large patches of missing feathers on your fluffy hens by repeatedly mounting them. If you hatch a few roosters you do not want, the most humane thing to do is to offer them for free to anyone who wants to take them over.

If you have a friend or local acquaintance who raises Silkies, this is your most secure option for procuring viable eggs. If you know of a local , licensed and scrupulously maintained farm that offers Silkies , that option is just as well.

It is important that one is secure in the knowledge that the flocks are healthy and well cared for. Silkies have that fluffy crest that obscures their eyesight and they are neither fast , nor effective at defending themselves against attack. The NPIP program not only comes out bi-annually to test for AI Avian Influenza and Salmonella, but also inspect the living conditions, feed storage, overall condition and health of the bird and require that the fowl be sound examples of the breed.

They have specific rules for keeping fowl which does not allow for breed mixing or close contact with other breeds. Having an NPIP licensed seller not only ensures one receives eggs that will produce a disease -free chick, it ensures one will receive an egg that produces a fine example of the breed. Farmers must pay not only for the licensing but for the testing and adhere to the safety and health protocols that being overseen by the government program requires.

Incubators do not have to be expensive to be effective. We hatch regularly in standard household use styrofoam incubators. When I first started hatching chicks for sale from the farm, my husband bought me a huge brand new super controlled cabinet incubator. It worked great, but was huge and very noisy and ultimately, unnecessary. I found that the eggs I set in the household styrofoam bator weere just as likely to hatch as those in the three thousand dollar cabinet bator, if proper procedures were observed.

The incubator MUST have a circulating fan. The still-air machines simply do not work effectively. If your machine came without a fan. These can also be purchased online at various sites and retailers for little money. Optional is the auto-turner rack. These are not necessary, but useful in many ways. With a rack you do not need to manually turn your eggs twice a day which not only can be mistimed or forgotten, it destabilizes the environment of the incubator regularly.

Not turning the eggs regularly and gently could result in the chick embryo or yolk sace which feed the embryo sticking to the side of egg, stunting development or depriving the chick of nutrition so that it dies in the shell. If you can use a rack that regularly turns your eggs I recommend it.

You can find incubators used and in good condition on auction sites and social media markets. There is absolutely nothing wrong with using them if they are thoroughly cleaned and sanitized. I buy them as I see them at good prices just to have on hand , even for replacement parts. This is fatal to many breeds of fowl including the Silkie.

Silkies incubate best in a dry environment: No applied humidity source. If your incubator has an external humidifier—disconnect it. Do not add water at any stage of development.

A developing embryo will be stunted and die in the shell with too much moisture. Excess moisture encourages growth of all manner of bacteria and fungi which is fatal to the embryo. A pipping or hatching Silkie chick will literally drown in a humid incubator. By the way, how long do silks stay on eggs? Fertile chicken eggs take around 21 days to hatch. Some strains last a little shorter and others a little longer. If the egg has not hatched after 25 days, it should be removed from the coop or incubator.

Eggs need constant heat during the incubation period for the embryo to turn into a chicken. Do all the eggs hatch at the same time?

A hen only lays one or two eggs a day. It does not start reproducing until all the brood has been laid. This way, all the chickens will hatch at the same time. Any eggs that have not hatched by then will be left behind when he takes the hens with him on their first trip.

What does the Silkie chicken egg look like? Silkies are very cute, airy chicks that are very docile and won't ruin your garden. They have five toes instead of four and are much smaller than most chickens. They lay small eggs with large yolks, dark yellow with little white, perhaps 35 per week.

They are also high in calcium, selenium, zinc and phosphorous. Choline is used to build cell membranes and has a role in producing signaling molecules in the brain. Above all else, eggs are linked to a reduced risk of heart disease, reduced risk of stroke, better eye health and even weight loss!

And all of this comes from a single butt nugget — can you believe it!? Silkies are notoriously slow growers and they take quite a long time to mature. Your Silkie hens will only start laying at approximately 7 — 9 months of age, but some may take even longer.

It is a fairly common belief that the longer a Silkie hen takes to start laying, the larger her overall production will be — so good news for the late bloomers! Silkies will generally consistently lay their eggs for two years or so, then gradually their production will start to decline. You will only notice that she might not be laying as much as usual anymore and then she might skip an entire week. You would be forgiven for assuming that you would need at least one nesting box per hen.

Chickens are social little animals and most hens will very happily share their nesting box. You will also find that not only do they like to share, but if you have multiple nesting boxes, you might find that all your girls lay in the same one — keeping their eggs in one basket you might say. When designing your coop, it is a good rule of thumb to provide one nesting box for every three to four hens.

As a side note, Silkies are also known for going broody and it will cause less squabbles if you have enough nesting boxes to go around should one of the little bantams decide to go broody.

Due to the fact that Silkies are fairly poor layers, you will most likely not be intending to sell your eggs. That being said, you will still need to take egg-ceptional care of your personal layer hen to ensure delicious and nutritious eggs for your table.

A sick or stressed hen might go off lay and will not be able to provide you with the eggs you require, however little there may be. You will need to start by ensuring your Silkie hens have access to good-quality feed that will provide all they want and more in the nutrition department. A good quality commercial feed has exactly the right balance of protein, calcium and minerals.

The absolute top quality will be organic, non-GMO food for layers. You will also need to make sure that your girls have access to fresh water and oyster grit. Feed oyster grit separately as your chooks will instinctively know when they need it.

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You should upgrade or use an alternative browser. How long do Silkie Bantam eggs need to hatch? Thread starter 6chickens in St. Charles Start date Jun 8, Sort by date Sort by reaction score.

Charles Songster 10 Years. Mar 25, 1, 44 St. Charles, IL. Our one year old Silkie Hen has been sitting on one little egg for 27 days.

We are getting worried about our little hen. When she went out today the other chickens attacked her maybe 27 days is too long away from the flock. I rescued her, now she's back on the egg in her nest.

What's the longest time for a Silkie egg to hatch? Anybody have advice?