Hinotori's house

Day 10 silkie egg. Dark spot to the left is the head

Looks great! Nothing more satisfying than to see those veins when you candle. Looks like we have the same incubator, and what a great idea to use the foam as dividers. I usually just stick some wadded up paper towels between eggs if they jostle in the turner. I like your idea a lot better! Do you ever sell silkie eggs?

The dividers are metal with foam inserts to cushion the eggs. They slot into the sides of the tray so they can be moved around for different egg sizes. I didn't feel like digging out another divider from the box like I usually do for silkie eggs. Hence the bit of paper towel. If I take out all dividers, 24 silkie eggs will fit. Did that last hatch when I knew fertility was bad.

I've sold eggs before for hatching, but I've been working on my line. I have a few faults I'm trying to get rid of.

New Camera!

Goodness, these pics are incredible. You can print your own Christmas card and sell them!

@Hinotori the Wildbunch keeps asking about raising some Silkies because they are so cute. I let my birds free range and I'm not sure how they would manage that, also I'm trying to get bigger (meatier) birds. I don't know about eating black chicken. For some reason the idea of black meat doesn't scream eat me, lol. Is there a way to mask the color in dishes?

Boiling it to death will lighten it. They are so small there isn't a lot of meat on them.

I do not let my silkies free range unsupervised. They can't see aerial threats very well with the crests. They aren't very good at running for cover either with that limited field of view.

They are normally fairly docile little birds that get picked on by more dominant breeds. The vaulted skulls are vulnerable to injury from pecking. Not being able to see the attacks coming doesn't help.

I ended up making a net covered central courtyard between my four silkie pens where there is grass. I take turns occasionally letting individual pens "free range" in there. They don't notice the difference.

My one silkie roo was super aggressive with the other birds. Of course they were all Dominiques and throttled him. But he always started it.

I think silkies are adorable but they're not as tough or hardy as my doms so I won't be getting any more.

I love the pictures of yours though! They're so gorgeous!

I love them too- I especially like that they aren't fence fliers. I don't have a problem with overhead predators do that's not a problem. If you ever reach a place where you are comfortable selling eggs just let me know.

NH Homesteader said:

My one silkie roo was super aggressive with the other birds. Of course they were all Dominiques and throttled him. But he always started it.

I think silkies are adorable but they're not as tough or hardy as my doms so I won't be getting any more.

I love the pictures of yours though! They're so gorgeous!

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I had the meanest hatchery silkie rooster that I'd gotten from the feed store. After he kept attacking me, he became the first bird I processed here. He was delicious.

My partridge are very people friendly. The males more so than the females actually. One of my founding roosters, Pumpkin, was nicknamed Genghis Khan because he was aggressive towards other breeds. He'd go out of his way to lead his silkie horde to attack the large fowl. The ameraucana roosters would run if they saw him coming. Any males I left in the pen with him learned his evil ways. All the ones I have now didn't grow up seeing the attacks so they aren't aggressive like that.

Then there is my white rooster, Ashes. He's the most non-confrontational bird I've seen. I don't know what the look is he gives the other roosters, but they don't see him as a rival. Even if he's mounting a girl right in front of them.