Hatching Different Eggs

[TinkyFeathers]

Hello!

I was wondering if in the springtime my silkie would sit on duck eggs, hatch them, and take care of the ducklings?? And could I have her sitting on both chicken and duck eggs? Or is that just a no no...?

Thanks for you time!

 

[Hunter0704]

I really don't know, but aren't Silkies kind of small chickens? If she would sit on the duck eggs, when they hatch after about two weeks they will probably be as large as she is, or close to it. ?????????

 

[BaGAWK!!]

You might want to make sure you get the timing down, don't duck eggs have a different incubation period than chicken eggs? Otherwise, yes, the silkie would probably raise the ducklings w/o any problem. I had a bantam hen mother 3 guineas...I stuck them under her as fuzzy babies and she very happily raised them. In fact, they still think of her as mom and even though she has been done with her mothering duties for a while they happily follow her like "ducks in a row" and scratch around with her. Very funny to see since they are now all larger than her! I have also had a bantam hen hatch a whole clutch of guinea eggs after the guinea hen quit setting halfway thru. I bet she would have raised them too but I pulled them from her to put in the brooder.

But then again, I have a banty Cochin hen who will hatch anything for me, but kicks all the dark chicks out of her nest! It all depends on the hen. Good luck with your duckies.

 

[Lollipop]

Had a game hen hatch a goose egg and mother the gosling successfully. Duck, guinea and goose eggs take 28 days to hatch, but chickens only 21.......Pop

 

[Gypsy07]

Quote:
Yup, this is correct. And she'll most likely still be trying to sit on top of that bunch of goslings who are the same size as her. I've seen photos of this before, and it's really funny looking. I'd imagine trying to get her to hatch out chicks and ducklings together might not be the best idea, just because ducklings grow so much faster than chicks. I'd be worried about the chicks getting squished under those big clumsy duckling feet after the first week or so! But I've never tried it so that's just my own assumptions, which might well be wrong. If you do try it, set the duck eggs first and add the chicken eggs later, so that they all reach hatch day at pretty much the same time. You don't want her hatching some and abandoning the nest and the rest of the eggs to take care of the babies...

 

[TinkyFeathers]

Oh gosh I didn't even think of how long the incubation is. I think I'm gonna give it a go with duck eggs next spring and maybe one of my other broodies could hatch the chickens I want

Thanks everybody!