Hello! Chicken enthusiast in Wisconsin

[sourland]

Hello, and welcome to BYC. Great advice on the silkies from @janiedoe. Introducing silkies to an established large fowl flock can present problems.

 

[PriscillatheRooster]

Hi welcome to BYC. The likelihood of tricking a hen into raising chicks is pretty much zero. Being broody is a hormonal response.
It is best to raise chicks. Bringing adults in can also bring in disease. I wholeheartedly recommend langshans. They are sweet, but not shy, and can hold their own in an existing flock. They make excellent mothers when they go broody.
Silkies may not do well with your barred rocks, especially with a rooster.
I also recommend brahmas and naked necks, both are confident, sweet, and occasionally broody.
My roosters love naked necks more than any other breed of hens...must be all that skin they show.
Good luck to you!

Thanks so much! I love the naked neck suggestion, they look even more like dinosaurs than full feathered breeds (which is a plus to me ) . My only concern is the cold weather up here, we can get temps below zero F at night for multiple weeks in the winter.

 

[chrissynemetz]

Hi, and welcome to BYC! It's so nice to meet you! Please make yourself at home!

 

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.

I would hold off on introducing any more members to the flock until you've enlarged the coop. I would look at getting a used 8x10 wood shed to modify into a coop. It will give you plenty of room for the flock size you have along with some space at one end for a bit of storage for feed, nest boxes and a special area for broody hens/sick bay/separation area.
Shoot for 12 linear inches of roost space per bird for you roosts, as much ventilation as you can get (targeting 1 sq foot per bird - usually between the rafters, the ridge and gable vents with some windows away from the roost area that can be open along with windows at roost height for summer).

Once it's done and the flock is moved in, you could use the special area for raising the chicks right in view of the flock. That way integration can start as soon as 4 weeks old.

 

[N F C]

Thanks for joining us!

 

[rjohns39]

Hi and welcome back to BYC We're so happy you've decided to join us

 

[cmom]

Since you are planning on building a new coop, you can put the new birds in when you move the others into it so the new coop will be new to everyone. They will still have to establish their pecking order but it has worked pretty well for me. Luckily I have several coops. Good luck and have fun...