7 week old silkie mothering day old chicks

[yeahd00d]

I have a question to see if anyone has experienced this:

I bought 2 straight run silkies about a month ago. Unfortunately one of them passed away yesterday suddenly, which happened to be the same day I was getting a delivery of 6 day old chicks.

The silkie that was left was getting picked on by my other 7 week old chicks and upset about the loss of its partner in crime (running around looking for its friend ). I decided to see what would happen if I put the silkie with the day old chicks.

Immediately the silkie was MUCH happier to be with others and not being picked on. They were all snuggling together. I went and checked on them last night and the silkie was sitting on all the babies like a mother hen would do!! I could see only the tops of some of the chicks heads poking out in between the silkies wings! Cutest thing ever.

I’m just wondering a couple things. (1) since I bought straight run and am unable to tell sex of the silkie, would it be safe to assume that this silkie is a female since she seems to be mothering the chicks?
(2) has anyone else experienced this? Putting an older chick with day old chicks and had a good experience? I was worried the silkie might pick on the chicks but is being very gentile with them.

I added a photo of the silkie laying with some of the chicks

 

[Cayuga momma]

Oh my soooo sweet and adorable! I have a 7 week old white leghorn and 4 two day old chicks, but I haven't put them together. I have heard Silkies are very sweet chickens, so I am not surprised she took to mothering them at such a young age. I would still keep an eye on her as she gets older, though.

 

[azygous]

If you search this site, you will find multiple instances where a very young Silkie chick has adopted newly hatched chicks. It would appear that Silkies have it in their DNA to be surrogates, even at a young age.

Those photos are acutely adorable. I'm feeling drunk with delight!

 

[yeahd00d]

If you search this site, you will find multiple instances where a very young Silkie chick has adopted newly hatched chicks. It would appear that Silkies have it in their DNA to be surrogates, even at a young age.

Those photos are acutely adorable. I'm feeling drunk with delight!

I put them together knowing silkies had a sweet temperament. Do you think it’s safe to assume this silkie is a female? Or do you think a cockerel would also act this way with baby chicks?

 

[nerfworthy]

That is SOOOO precious I just died from cuteness overload.

 

[azygous]

It could be a cockerel. In the chicken kingdom, both sexes are capable of brooding chicks.

 

[yeahd00d]

It could be a cockerel. In the chicken kingdom, both sexes are capable of brooding chicks.

Ha! Wishful thinking on my part. Hopefully it’s a pullet

 

[yeahd00d]

That is SOOOO precious I just died from cuteness overload.

When I checked on them last night and saw they were all underneath the silkie I was like “that is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen!”

 

[HenniesInMyHeart]

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW I CAN'T STAND IT!!!
CUTENESS OVERLOAD!!!!!!!

 

[MROO]

My oldest Silkie is a huge, 9 month old cockerel. Because none of the other peeps from his shipment survived, Herman was raised in the house as a lone chick. As a result, he's a little ... okay, he's a LOT ... spoiled! At about a week old, Herman adopted a giant puffball - one of my daughter's back-pack ornaments. He's carried it around ever since. He mothers that ragged little puff as if it were a chick. He even sleeps with it and hunts all over when it's in the wash. Because of Herman, your little one's natural mothering instincts don't surprise me at all. Male or female - it's just in their nature!