Backstory:
A silkie hen went broody. (No surprise there.) My broody jail was full, so I left her there. She's in an outside pen with a hutch at night, along with another hen and a rooster.
Our weather turned from the 50s to 70°F, so I put four 4-week-old chicks in that pen. It's pretty roomy, and I gave them two food/water stations so the little ones could always get food. I gave the broody hen 6 eggs to sit on, to keep her there, as now she became the "heater" for the hutch, as 4-week-old silkies are a little young to be outdoors at night without heat.
Fast forward about 10 days. Tonight I checked in on them and saw her eggs were all kicked out and the four chicks were somewhat under her. They are too big to all fit.
I ran the eggs to the house and candled. I could see movement in four of them so put all six in the incubator that was already running.
Never in my life have I heard or seen such a thing! The last thing I ever intended to happen was that this hen would want to be a mother to them. They were incubator hatched, so I guess there's nothing wrong with them experiencing a little hen-loving.
A silkie hen went broody. (No surprise there.) My broody jail was full, so I left her there. She's in an outside pen with a hutch at night, along with another hen and a rooster.
Our weather turned from the 50s to 70°F, so I put four 4-week-old chicks in that pen. It's pretty roomy, and I gave them two food/water stations so the little ones could always get food. I gave the broody hen 6 eggs to sit on, to keep her there, as now she became the "heater" for the hutch, as 4-week-old silkies are a little young to be outdoors at night without heat.
Fast forward about 10 days. Tonight I checked in on them and saw her eggs were all kicked out and the four chicks were somewhat under her. They are too big to all fit.
I ran the eggs to the house and candled. I could see movement in four of them so put all six in the incubator that was already running.
Never in my life have I heard or seen such a thing! The last thing I ever intended to happen was that this hen would want to be a mother to them. They were incubator hatched, so I guess there's nothing wrong with them experiencing a little hen-loving.
