Ok........I have a silkie that started brooding last Sunday. I pulled her and her 3 eggs and put them seperate from the other bantams and also put 2 of my other chicken eggs under her. I now have a lead on pheasant eggs that I would like to try to hatch. This raises a few questions for me. I would like to try to have one of my hens hatch them since I have no incubation experience.
1. Can I encourage another silkie to go broody if I leave the eggs in the nest?
2. Can I put a silkie in a seperate box with eggs to get her to brood?
3. If I cant get a silkie to brood can I do a "bait and switch" on the eggs and swap the ones my silkie is currently setting on with the pheasant eggs? Will she notice that I switched the eggs? And does she realize the "time" that she's sat and abandon the nest when they dont hatch when she thinks they should?
Any advice on all of this would be greatly appreciated!!
1. Can I encourage another silkie to go broody if I leave the eggs in the nest?
2. Can I put a silkie in a seperate box with eggs to get her to brood?
3. If I cant get a silkie to brood can I do a "bait and switch" on the eggs and swap the ones my silkie is currently setting on with the pheasant eggs? Will she notice that I switched the eggs? And does she realize the "time" that she's sat and abandon the nest when they dont hatch when she thinks they should?
Any advice on all of this would be greatly appreciated!!
