Advice please

[Vwheatley]

So my silkie hen has gone broody. My husband is fascinated by polish chickens, so my question is this. If I let my silkie hen hatch some polish eggs, obviously she will hatch them and care for them but I have resisted having polish because I’m not convinced our set up is ok for them, we have a large coop and then the hens all free range in the garden in the day, having read up about polish it seems they tend to get lost and upset if allowed to roam, I was curious if it would make any difference if the chicks were raised by a silkie. Sorry if this is an idiotic question but I wouldnt want to hatch chicks that would be unhappy later in life. And if that’s the case I will just hatch some more silkies. Thanks in advance x

 

[turkey girl 0964]

There are no idiotic questions here. Hopefully someone will come around and help you out.

 

[Vwheatley]

Thanks x

 

[Sierra G]

When people make generalizations like Polish wander off, Ancona are flighty, or Buff Orpigtons are the nicest chickens they're doing one of two things. Either they're sharing their opinion based on their experience with a limited number of the breed or they're just repeating what someone else said. I'm not saying some generalizations aren't helpful, just that you shouldn't base all your decisions on someone else's experience, especially since there are lots of variables in chicken raising.

If the birds are genetically predisposed to a certain behavior, they're more likely to frustrate a mother hen than follow her lead. But their hatch group will serve as a model for behavior too. There's survival value in fitting in with the group. Maybe compromise with your husband and let your broody set a mixed clutch of Polish and silkies. The hen will be less frustrated because half the chicks will behave more or less as she expects them to and the Polish may have their wandering ways curbed by their silkie peer role models.

The Polish may not work out for you as well as you hope, but worst case you should still be able to rehome them with someone who can give them a situation that suits them better. I'd say keeping your husband interested in your chickens is worth the risk of trying a new breed, but that's my opinion.

 

[Vwheatley]

Thank you, this is a great reply and exactly what I was hoping for. I will let him have his way. She has hatched other breeds so She won’t mind if they act strangely.