Can hen who is not broody care & raise chicks?

[lazyoranch]

I have a Silkie hen and 5 baby chicks. The hen is not broody right now, but very frequently goes broody. I placed the chicks and the hen in a large box with shavings, food and water. The chicks are loving it. They are under the hen. I am trying to figure out if she is all right with the situation though. She hasn't moved off of them. Three of the chicks are in fact hers that I incubated. Has anyone had a similar experience with a non-broody hen raising babies? Thanks!!

 

[silkiechicken]

Can she act as a warm body, easily. She's probably wondering why she's in a box being used by small creatures. A silkie might be docile enough not to kill and eat the chicks too. Usually though, it requires the whole hormone change thing to get a mom hen to actually raise them. As in doing things like feed them, show them things to eat, answer to I'm cold type calls, and warn of danger.

 

[sugarjax06]

I was just wondering this today!