danceswithronin
Crowing
I have a flock of four silkie bantams (three are hens for sure, one is questionable still at eleven months) and my main egg-sitter, Yin, is DESPERATE to hatch out a brood. Since I'm curious whether the eggs are even getting fertilized, I decided to hatch out at least one egg, so I waited until there was only one in the nest this past weekend and marked it. I haven't collected eggs since, so there's probably anywhere from 4-6 eggs in the nest now. Yin has been sitting the nest continuously, only coming off to eat/drink once or twice a day. She's been broody since Christmas and increasingly agitated when I collect the eggs - not aggressive, just visibly distraught/confused.
I was thinking though, would I have a better chick survival rate if I just let her hatch out a whole nest? I'd hate to let her hatch one chick only to have the chick fail to thrive or something just because it's a solo act, or think that my eggs aren't being fertilized at all just because the one I happened to mark didn't take. Since they are purebred silkies I don't think I'd have any issues rehoming the other chicks if I hatched more than one.
Thoughts? Space is also a consideration, as I have four pullets (currently a week old) moving into the enclosure in about four weeks. I'm not worried about the temperament of the other chickens around a brood of chicks, they are all very shy and sweet.
I was thinking though, would I have a better chick survival rate if I just let her hatch out a whole nest? I'd hate to let her hatch one chick only to have the chick fail to thrive or something just because it's a solo act, or think that my eggs aren't being fertilized at all just because the one I happened to mark didn't take. Since they are purebred silkies I don't think I'd have any issues rehoming the other chicks if I hatched more than one.
Thoughts? Space is also a consideration, as I have four pullets (currently a week old) moving into the enclosure in about four weeks. I'm not worried about the temperament of the other chickens around a brood of chicks, they are all very shy and sweet.