Hell hath no fury like a silkie scorned

My little blue silkie, Victoria, took six chicks under her wings immediately a couple of months ago and mothered them.

One night last week I put ten with her, and again, she spread her wings and began mothering them too. I watched for a while, and it was apparent that she was happy having chicks to care for.

I went out the next morning, and all the chicks were under the red 250-watt heat lamp, not Victoria. I could see that Victoria was mad as a "wet hen"; her chicks had abandoned her as a stranger. She was beginning to go over and peck them even. I finally had to divide the coop, silkies in back with the pop door to the run, chicks up front with front door access.

"... AND THE MORAL OF THIS STORY IS..."
Never put a heat lamp in if your silkie will take chicks. The world will go around a lot faster if the chicks are warmed by a "mother". It has to be one or the other, hen or lamp.

 

Quote:I think you're right. I just now went out and removed the divider after putting the two silkies up front with the chicks to see if they'd leave each other alone; they did. After that, I removed the dividing wall, and the silkies left the coop. I don't think that they'll bother the chicks now that they're used to their being in there with them. All these happenings brought the splash silkie, Elizabeth, out of her broodiness. Glad she's back to normal and not so fussy with anyone/anything that looked at her.