First broody... have some questions

[Rowzy]

My silkie finally decided to go broody, she started acting broody this week but didn't really start setting anything until last night. Hopefully she is actually going to be broody this time. Anyways, I have a few questions because this is my first broody.

How many eggs do you think my banty silkie can handle? She has 6 right now I think. Can I still give her more eggs tomorrow?

Will she need to be seperated from the rest of the chickens? There are 6 other hens and a roo, and she is definantly near the bottom of the pecking order.

Do I need to/when should I candle the eggs?

Any other advice for me would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Doc Henry]

I have a silkie setting now she has 9 under her, i added eggs for a couple of days but no longer than a couple. If you add eggs for too many days they won't hatch soon enough and she'll leave them when the others hatch. I've found that the smaller the nest box the more eggs you can sneak in if she's broody she'll be happy to have them.

 

[Rowzy]

I gave her 2 more eggs today. She rolled one under right away but hasn't yet done anything with the second one. I will have to see later if she has. Shes fairly little so I think 8 is about all she should handle...

Also my nesting box is a few feet off the floor. When it comes to hatching time should I be worried about the chicks falling out? I have an old large dog crate I can move them to if needed (with a little bit of fixing because the holes are too big for chicks I think).

 

[Doc Henry]

that could work, or you can put a piece of wire over the nest box depending on what type you have and how big it is. I've stuck a pop bottle waterer through the wire it works pretty well. let us all know how it goes.