Broody hen clutch, questions!

on Memorial Day, my silkie hen decided to be a good mommy finally. so I have one more week till chicks hatch, but have some questions.
Do I have to worry about checking for pasty butt, or will momma take care of that?
They will be staying outside, but what if it gets to hot? will just shade a frozen water bottles be enough?
Momma is currently still in the pen with my two roosters, but I don't want to move her until the chicks hatch, because I don't want to take the chance of her not sitting the eggs again(she has done this before) will the babies be ok for a day or two in with the boys? or should I block off the coop, so the boys can't get near the chicks?
And how long should I keep chicks with mom?

any other advice would be appreciated! I raised my own batch last year, but this is the first time letting my silkie do it, so I'm clueless!

We've only had one batch of broody-hatched eggs but I'll do the best I can to help.

I didn't check for pasty butt. One time I noticed something on one of the chicks but it wasn't enough to try to get him and check it out. Since that is often brought on by stress and chilling it might not be a big issue with momma raising them?

I would block off the coop or make it so they can't get near them. Although, others may suggest differently.

I believe you can leave them with her as long as you like. Ours were 4 weeks when I took them away from her. I've read that sometimes the mom loses interest sometimes even earlier.

How fun!

Oooh! I have had a few broody, broody hens! I don't know very much about Silkies, but I can share my experience(s) with you. The first time one of my hens went broody it was a surprise as she was still rather young. 6-7months old and boy was she nasty! Big old screeches and growls! It was actually kinda funny. At the time I only had maybe a dozen hens and one Roo. I did not separate them or keep them confined. In fact, Papa Bird seemed very proud of the new hatchlings and was VERY protective of them. He would "corral" them and not let them stray far. It was an amazing site! The other hens weren't quite so, but mama bird did a great job at running off the others.

The second time I had a clutch hatch, I actually had another hen steal some of the babies! Either way, mamas and babies all did just fine by themselves.

Now, having two Roos and 1 hen is not a good situation, I'm afraid. They will over breed your hen to the point the Roos fight and your hen will get tore up on the backside to the bone. You need to get some more hens or rehome one of your roosters.

Enjoy the new babies. Keep a steady watch and make sure mama is taking care of them. Make sure they have shelter/shade that mama can lead them to if the weather gets too hot and lots and lots of clean fresh water!

Have fun! Many Blessings!

sang21ferret said:

on Memorial Day, my silkie hen decided to be a good mommy finally. so I have one more week till chicks hatch, but have some questions.
Do I have to worry about checking for pasty butt, or will momma take care of that?
They will be staying outside, but what if it gets to hot? will just shade a frozen water bottles be enough?
Momma is currently still in the pen with my two roosters, but I don't want to move her until the chicks hatch, because I don't want to take the chance of her not sitting the eggs again(she has done this before) will the babies be ok for a day or two in with the boys? or should I block off the coop, so the boys can't get near the chicks?
And how long should I keep chicks with mom?

any other advice would be appreciated! I raised my own batch last year, but this is the first time letting my silkie do it, so I'm clueless!

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oh my lord this is cool my silkie just hatched 13 bitties and i can answer all your qs. if a chick develops pasty butt get a warm wash cloth and break it up and let it come off. dont rip. shade and ventilation will be fine. ihave mine in an off ground pen so nothing can get to them. get ridof one rooster so they dont kill each other. move the babies and mama or block them off as soon as they hatch.and i read that when the mom starts laying eggs again they are ready but i would leave yhem together about a week more just in case. good luck and we should share baby photos

Thanks guys! I have about 15 other hens, but the boys and the silkie are seperated, because I want to use her for breeding, the other girls are just for eggs for now! but she has a place in her pen where she can get away from the boys, and the boys are surprisingly nice to each other ( I keep a VERY close eye on them, because it DOES amaze me how well they get along). I know my one Roo should be ok with the chicks, he is even nice to the worms that he finds, but my frizzle is a bit aggressive, and was guessing I couldn't trust him with chicks.

Thanks for the info guys! a small pan and coop are in the works for momma and babies, and pictures will definatley be posted when they all arrive! She is on 6 eggs, all looks healthy(candled!). But I'm curious to see what I've got in the mix. Female is a buff silkie, and my roos are a Seckled Sussex, and a Partidge Frizzled Cochin Bantam, so they should be some interesting looking babies!

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My mama hen is still with the babies in the run and she still sleeps with them at night, on a nest, they are 10 weeks old.
She doesn't want to stop being the vigilent mama. So I say let her.

Have fun with them.