Does anybody else let their mother hens incubate and raise their own chicks? Just wondering if anybody else does... and if there are any advantages to hand raising.
A lot of us do, the advantages are many, do a search on broody, and you'll see what I mean. I just let a broody set on 13 eggs but I put the babies in a brooder. Do you free range? Do you have a brooder etc in case she abandons? I do both for now because I'm still learning.
I have a silkie who fosters eggs all the time. She hatched two a couple of weeks ago. It is only 20 degrees outside tonight and she watches them all day. Interesting - the hottest it gets out there is probably 40-50 and yet they are happily running around, eating and drinking. The ones in our brooder, I worry about when the temps hit 80. They might not be as friendly as any handraised, but they sure seem healthy.