Broody Legbar

[SteveMac]

Hi,

I have invested in 6 eggs for our repeatedly broody Legbar and they came today.

I bought what were supposedly LF Silkies eggs and am concerned about the size of them. As I know very little about Silkies, other than the two different listings I see for both Bantams and LF's I am after some advice or information on them. This is also the first time we will be hatching eggs and hopefully raising chicks Anything you can offer will be appreciated.

 

[GaryDean26]

What information do you want on Silkies?

What questions do you have about hatching with a broody hen?

 

[SteveMac]

I bought 6 LF Silkie eggs but they look very small, so wondering what I should look for and what size range there is. I'm also wondering how prepared I must be in case she decides not to mother them.

I'm looking at brooders etc at the moment and looking for cheapest method of heating it

 

[GaryDean26]

Ya...I wondered about the Bantam/LF that was listed. The Silkie is about a 3 lbs bird. There are no Large Fowl versions of the Silkie that I am aware of. When I saw you post this I though that you may have some type of project birds that people were breeding in an effort to produce a larger Silkie. I have never breed Silkies. The closest think i have had was a Silkie Cochin mix. Others that are involved with the Silkie community may know more about the size.

I do know that the Silkie is an Asian breed that is basically a collection of a lot of rarely seen traits. The most noted is the feather type is a very fine feather that looks almost like fur. The breed also has black skin and black meat. The black meat is a delicacy in China and said to have medical values one of which is to speed postpartum recover. The meat can not be prepare the same way as the chicken we are used to though. The meat is very tough so lots of tenderizers are required. We found signature for a Chinese Restaurant in the USA that used a coca-cola based meridian after the birth on my second daughter. It was the best chicken I had eaten in my whole life. Silkies also have blue ear lobes, feathered feet, five toes, etc. They are popular for exhibition. Every 4H meet I have been to has children showing Silkies. They are also popular as broody hens. Some people keep them for no other reason but to hatch their eggs for them. The Silkie x Cochin cockerel that we had breed a White Leghorn and after he was gone we decided to put one egg in the incubator (just one). We got a pullet to hatch that we kept for 4 years. She never would lay eggs for more than about 2 weeks before she would set on them. I am not sure if that broodiness. What what I have heard about pure Silkies I am guessing that is about par for the breed.

I am not sure what problems a hen who doesn't mother her chicks is. We have only used broodies a few times but the chicks were all just fine. We put the little chick feeders and waterers out for the chicks the same as we would for chicks hatched in the incubator so feed and water isn't an issue the only problem I could see with a dead beat mother is that if the chicks can't climb under mother hen at night to keep warm they will die. We just do bed check every night when all the birds start to roost and make sure everyone has made their way back to the nest and are under the hen. IF the hen doesn't take the chicks (after sitting on them for three weeks and hatching them they will) then you will need to take them from the hen and put them in a box with a light for them to stay warm under at night.

We use plastic totes with a light bulb for our heat source. We used to be able to get 100W light bulbs before our government regulated them out. We now just have to put the lower watt bulb closer and can't put as many chicks around it. We tried using a heat lamp but that was too hot for our climate. We ended up with it getting too hot and some dying from the heat. So the 60W light bulb it what we have now.

 

[SteveMac]

This is an excellent response and has taught us a lot about them. I must thank you as it helps me understand what I can expect. I think at least 2 will be staying on.

 

[bcarthen]

i have hatched bantom chicks of different varieties under my buff orpington and she has mothered all of them until they went to their new homes.

 

[auroaSfarm]

Silkies lay from small to medium eggs they have not a white but tinted color of brown and I heard they could be light blue? I'm not sure if that's true but they are very very good mothers

 

[SteveMac]

Thanks for the replies and all the information.

The Legbar is sitting with a determination so we will wait and see, but I'm quite relaxed now. Apart from the thought that I need to build a bigger coop. The run is thankfully more than adequate.

I'm really looking forward to the events as they happen and wondering how many we will end up with.