Broody - to hatch or not to hatch?

[MyChicagoCoop]

I'm fairly new to backyard chickens. I have my first flock as of April 2018. There are two ~9 month old silkies and three ~5 month old large fowl. One of my sweet silkie girls has gone broody. From everything I read, a broody chicken is mean and will 'growl' and snap at you. But this girl does none of that. I took her off an egg that her or her sister laid, and she didn't put up a fight whatsoever. She has been broody for about 3 days now. I feel bad taking the egg away from her, but with no Roo's... anyways, it got me thinking that maybe I should get her a couple fertilized eggs and let her sit on them. Or maybe I am crazy and shouldn't try it so soon. Thoughts? It is the first time she has gone broody and it just makes me sad to see her this way. I also know nothing about raising chicks because I got the silkies at 6-months and the LF at 9 weeks.

 

[sourland]

Raising a brood of chicks with a hen is a fun thing to do, but keep in mind that roughly 50% of the chicks will be cockerels. You will have to have a plan B in mind for the cockerels.

 

[dunnmom]

I waited until my girls were 2 yrs. old to do a broody hatch. It's really a personal choice as to whether to let a broody try to hatch, or to break her of it. Keep in mind, letting mama do it is easier unless she abandons eggs or won't raise the chicks for whatever reason. Another thing to consider is whether you want more chickens, and consider the likelihood that some will be male and could prove difficult to rehome if you don't want them. Either way, you'll need to have a game plan.