Broody chicken

[annacros]

Hi! Sorry if this question has been answered, I just joined today! I have 4 chickens in my backyard, but my silkie bantam has gone broody since one of my chickens passed away. I thought it would be a good idea to put a fertile egg under her so she can sit on the lay and look after the egg. She has never laid before.Has anyone done this, or are there any issues in doing this. I worried that my other chickens, (2 french marrons and a Rhode Island Red will be aggressive towards the chick, and the silkie is much smaller in comparison. Basically, I am just wondering whether this would be an okay thing to do, or whether it would be best to avoid. Thanks!

 

[Spruceroost]

You want her to sit on the egg right? I don't have experience with that per say, but I have delt with a broody hen. The others might try and lay in there with her, but I never saw any aggression.

She might develop a broody habit though and that can get annoying.

 

[annacros]

Yes, just want her to sit on the fertilised egg and be a surrogate mother hen. She sits in the laying box all day anyway, so I thought might be a good idea as we were wanting another chicken.

Do you think that the other chickens will be aggressive towards the baby chicken when it hatches, because it will be new to the coup?

 

[JeanR]

The other birds will likely kill the chick, if indeed she IS setting (Silkies are usually great setters and mothers.) And they have no clue about whose eggs are under them. . One lone chick is not an easy project. Chickens hatch in numbers and grow best in flocks (any size). A single chick can become a spoiled brat if raised alone (and older chicks or chickens are not compatible or safe companions). If you do this safely, the hen must be in a separate pen with her egg and later the chick will stay with her. And you must count this as experience--and maybe a difficult one.

 

[Thing2]

If you have a place to separate her either while she broods or after her chicks hatch, I would say go ahead. I would also suggest getting maybe 4-5 fertile eggs, as not all the eggs will hatch, especially since this is her first time. But definitely separate her and her babies from the other chickens after they hatch. Other hens can seriously injure baby chicks. If she's brooding on a laying box and other hens have access to her, I would very lightly draw an X on the fertile eggs in Sharpie so that you can distinguish between them and the freshly laid ones. Hope this helps, and I hope you decide to go for it, because baby chicks are the best, and I've heard that silkies make amazing mothers.
Also, welcome to BYC!

 

[annacros]

Thank you so much! This is really helpful! Having chicks is something that I would LOVE to do, but just wanted to check the facts before going through with it and baby silkies would be soo cute

 

[Spruceroost]

Thank you so much! This is really helpful! Having chicks is something that I would LOVE to do, but just wanted to check the facts before going through with it and baby silkies would be soo cute

I had a baby silkie I paired with a Silkie hen only because I had no other choice. They bonded well, but you have to keep an eye out though.

 

[annacros]

I had a baby silkie I paired with a Silkie hen only because I had no other choice. They bonded well, but you have to keep an eye out though.

Yes I think that the silkie would be fine, it would just be others that may have an issue with the baby chick (as they have been aggressive towards each other). It would be great to have a couple of silkies together.

 

[annacros]

The other birds will likely kill the chick, if indeed she IS setting (Silkies are usually great setters and mothers.) And they have no clue about whose eggs are under them. . One lone chick is not an easy project. Chickens hatch in numbers and grow best in flocks (any size). A single chick can become a spoiled brat if raised alone (and older chicks or chickens are not compatible or safe companions). If you do this safely, the hen must be in a separate pen with her egg and later the chick will stay with her. And you must count this as experience--and maybe a difficult one.

This is very helpful, thank you. This was what I was worried about, I will to find a separate coup for my silkie to look after the eggs. I would still have to be careful about the reintroduction of the chooks when they get big enough to go back in with the others.