Adding babies to Silkie momma

[Kim Marie]

I had 3 Silkies hatch a total of 5 eggs between them last Sunday...I have some that hatched from incubator yesterday, (Sunday)...will I be able to slip them under the moms tonight? Will they be ok? There is a week difference between the babies!!!

 

[DobieLover]

I had 3 Silkies hatch a total of 5 eggs between them last Sunday...I have some that hatched from incubator yesterday, (Sunday)...will I be able to slip them under the moms tonight? Will they be ok? There is a week difference between the babies!!!

I would think that would be very risky. The mothers know their chicks and how many they have.
I have read of one instance where a hen accepted chicks knowing full well they weren't hers as she hadn't set any eggs.
I have also seen video of mothers rejecting chicks they hatched because they looked vastly different from the other chicks in the brood.

 

[NNYchick]

A week difference might be risky. Are all the broody sharing the 5 chicks? Mine share a clutch of chicks and really don’t pay much attention to who hatched who. You could try but I would do it when you can watch closely. If you do it at night and it doesn’t go well you may find dead chicks in the morning.