Do I dare????

[gritsar]

I'll be traveling on Thursday to the feed store about an hour away to pick up some chicks for my SF broody that is bound to have a bad hatch (only one egg viable). I don't like singleton chicks. It bothers me for some reason; especially after they are kicked loose from mama. I feel like they need hatchmates to feel safe and secure.

Anyhow, I was just out watching my silkie with her 3 day old singleton chick. Her chick is very small, a trahma (turken/brahma cross or turken/EE, I'm not sure which). I'm thinking of picking up a few chicks, probably bantams, for the silkie while I'm there.

If I give the chicks to her at night do you think the silkie will accept them? Her chick will be 5 days old by that time. I do know that she stayed on the nest for two days after her chick hatched, waiting on the others to hatch. I finally picked her up off the nest today to break her broody "spell".

Do I dare give her chicks this late?

 

[schellie69]

I am not sure I just gave my broody 5 eggs to hatch, last year I only did 2 and only 1 hatched and I lost that one to a stray cat. I would try and watch to see what happens. Good luck.

 

[redhen]

You can try it... she may accept them... since her chick is still so young...
But be prepared to have a brooder handy, just in case she attacks them...
Does she still sit on the eggs?? You could slip the chicks under her when shes sitting on the eggs at night...

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
I took the other eggs away from her the day after Uno hatched. They were definitely no good. I only gave her 3 eggs to start with because she's so little.
I figure it's worth a shot. Worse come to worst, I'm sure the SF will take in more chicks. She was out for her daily constitutional today and kept trying to steal Uno from Jethro.

 

[redhen]

Quote:
I took the other eggs away from her the day after Uno hatched. They were definitely no good. I only gave her 3 eggs to start with because she's so little.
I figure it's worth a shot. Worse come to worst, I'm sure the SF will take in more chicks. She was out for her daily constitutional today and kept trying to steal Uno from Jethro.

Aww..give her some chicks too.....

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
I took the other eggs away from her the day after Uno hatched. They were definitely no good. I only gave her 3 eggs to start with because she's so little.
I figure it's worth a shot. Worse come to worst, I'm sure the SF will take in more chicks. She was out for her daily constitutional today and kept trying to steal Uno from Jethro.

Aww..give her some chicks too.....

I'm so overrun in chicks. I can't believe I'm going to buy more! I told Keith I could be sneaky about it and not tell him that I'm going to buy chicks, but I prefer not to be sneaky with my husband. He wouldn't have known the difference, as he stays pretty clueless about the chickens, but I wouldn't feel right about deceiving him. He just shook his head. I guess that's an okay.