Can Broody hens raise day old chicks

[Chicken Lil]

I have two Silkies that have gone broody, and nothing I do seems to stop this behavior. So I ordered 4 chicks, and plan on sticking them under the Silkies on the first night they arrive.

Has anyone had succes with this?

Also, should I move the hens out of the hen house so they can raise the chicks, or should I just put them in the hen house all together?

Worst case is I raise them in a brooder and integrate later, but I am going to get rid of those broody hens of mine as they are driving me nuts. Never again with the Silkies.

 

[frankenchick]

As long as the girls have been setting for a couple of weeks (to be sure they're really solid), you should be able to put the day-olds under them.

I put mine in at night after the girl had been settled in for a few hours. DH held up the hen while I quickly stuffed the babies under her. The only one who got pecked was me! As soon as the last one was in, and everyone stopped peeping, the new mama settled right in and started crooning to the babies. I stayed for about 20 mins just to make sure everything was okay.

I ran down at dawn to check, and everything was fine. I set up an old kennel/crate with a chick waterer and feeder and put that inside the coop. Mama wasn't making any move to go in, so I gathered the babies into a little box and transfered them to the kennel. Mama followed, and I shut them in. I only needed to do this for a couple days. By their 3rd day, Mama had them all out scratching.

Good luck.

 

[Southernbelle]

I've never been able to break a Silkie either - they are stubborn little broodies! I usually just give them eggs to hatch. Mine "adopt" chicks all the time - in my case, it's usually because another broody hatched the chicks and they want to get in on the mothering action.

The best case scenerio would be if the Silkies had been broody a few weeks, then tuck the babies under them at night. As soon as mine hear those little chick peeps they get VERY interested and make all those motherly clucking noises - it's so cute!

 

[Chicken Lil]

Thanks for your input. I don't have, nor do I want, any roosters (anything that wakes me up before 6 am WILL end up in a stew pot) so I don't want to get fertile eggs. this is why I ordered sexed chicks.

My two silkies are so broody i think they would adopt a kitten right now. Gosh what a pain!

 

[lilbreeches]

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[CK Chickadilly]

I have 2 orders coming this week & would love to try that cause I have 2 crossed Silkie/Cochins that won't come out of the nest box either for a few weeks. But I am afraid itis to cold here in MI right now.

Do you think I could move them to a crate in the barn so the others aren't around? for a week or so? I suppose it will still be to cold to have a mom raise them outside yet.

 

[Southernbelle]

Quote:

I love it!

Your 2 girls may co-parent, too. Thats cute to see. Whenever I have broodies on the same hatch day - they end up with some sort of domestic partnership. Last time one was the designated "heat lamp" and always had the babies tucked under her and the other was the find-good-things-for-the-babies-to-eat girl.

Now I have 3 broody girls sharing 6 babies - the other night I saw they'd all moved into 1 nest box together! 3 Silkie mamas and 6 Silkie babies all in a 5 gallon bucket

 

[Southernbelle]

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You could if it would make you less worried, but I don't.

I'm mean to my girls. I've had 9 or 10 broodies since October and I made them all brood outside in the drafty, unheated chicken barn. I think the lowest the temps got was 5 degrees. If they kept the eggs warm enough to hatch, they would keep the babies warm enough to survive. The babies were very hardy and healthy and I haven't lost any to the cold.

 

[featherfooted]

I have a silkie that adobted 4 brahma chicks that I hatched in the incubator. She had been broody for about 2 weeks When I put them in the brooder it was pretty cold even with the light, as the brooder is in our unheated shop, so I got Fruit Loop and put her in the brooder with the chicks. After she drank some water, She called the chicks and has been happy ever since. She's adopted chicks before without having to stick them under her. She just loves being a Mom. She has a home for life. In fact She raised these chicks Dad. Here's a picture of Fruit Loop and her new family.

 

[CK Chickadilly]

Awwww, so sweet!