How do you set up broody hen?

[clucky2]

I have a broody silkie who needs to raise some chicks. I don't have a roo, but I'll get some babies to stick under her next month. I've never done this and have some Q's.

Does she need to set on some fake eggs for any length of time before I give her the babies? ( She'll set on an empty nest actually. )


Should she be sectioned off from the other hens? I have 5 others in a 4x6 coop with a 6x10 foot pen attached.

The feed store chicken man says she'll keep them warm enough, but we are still getting frost at night here in March. Should I add a lamp?

How many babes can she set on without it being too many for her bantam body? I want there to be enough for warmth without overwelming her!


She really needs to raise some chicks, as she keeps going broody. Even after I put her in a broody buster, she'll snap out of it for a good while, then the spell hits her again. This is my next attempt to help her snap out of it!

Thanks

 

[Southernbelle]

Quote:
I put my answers in bold. Congratulations on your little broody!

 

[clucky2]

Thank you for you quick and sweetly worded response! It almost made me a little teary picturing her with babies. Now I know what I'll do. Except for one more question........Since the babies will need a grower/starter feed, will mama eat this too? How do you make it available but keep it separate from the big girls feed?

 

[Southernbelle]

Quote:
She can eat it, too. It won't hurt her. It usually took my mama hens about a month before they started laying again, so I figured she didn't need the higher levels of calcium anyway. I love broody hens!

If you really want to, you could hang a feed dish of layer food on the side of the cage, out of the chicks' reach. Don't be surprised if she prefers the chick food, though. I think after the broody process, a little extra protein is probably good for her.

 

[SmartyChick]

I agree with everything southernbelle said. You should use eggs or egg substitutes while waiting for chocks, I like to wait at leat 20 days just in case I have a hen that is in tune with her internal clock. I also used a dog crate with the top off, for the first 24 hours with her chicks I put the top back on for a little privacy but took the door off the crate. I don't like to section them off too long for risk of the rest of the flock forgetting them and then having to integrate.

One thing I've learned: don't worry, MOMMA KNOWS BEST!

Sit back and watch Mom raise her little fuzz butts it is the cutest thing!!!!

 

[Kittymomma]

When you get the chicks be sure to tuck them under her at night so you have the best chance of her accepting them--Might not be much of a problem with a silky though, I hear they'll brood almost anything at anytime.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I totally absolutely agree with Southernbelle except for one thing. I would put fake eggs under her but not infertile eggs. I'd be concerned that an infertile egg could get bacteria in it and explode or that it might get accidentally cracked, which could make a mess or maybe even start a chicken on becoming an egg eater. Fake eggs are safer.

If you do decide to let Mama raise the chicks with the flock, you can hang the feeder with the layer higher up so the chicks have trouble getting to it (though this really doesn't stop them for that long. It does not take them that long to be able to jump) and put a dish if chick starter in a place the hens can't get to it. The chicks will easily be able to get through a crack or hole 2-1/2" wide but the hens cannot. Maybe build a crate with the boards spread out 2-1/2" and set that over a bowl of chick starter. Or you can feed them all starter and offer oyster shell on the side.

 

[clucky2]

Thanks everyone! I feel like I'm expecting my first child, and I've got this blanket of support from all the wise women of the village. Really!
I have a dog pen that'll work beautifully, and the chicks will be able to easily get through the wire when it seems safe to do so. ( I 'll block the openings till then. ) My silkie's name is Dolly, ( because she's fancy like Dolly Parton. ) I know she'll be a very good protective mother. She goes after our big yellow lab when she's in a broody state and he backs right off. It's the funniest thing to see her fly into his face if he gets to close, then him slink away with all the humiliation in the world.

 

[squeakyballs]

My silkie finally went broody yesterday.

I'm planning to do exactly what you are!

I was going to make a thread to ask exactly the same questions, I'm glad I saw yours first!

I have a few questions along the same lines though,

Can I give her different breeds of chicks, as long as they are all the same age? (my plans are 2 each of cuckoo maran, americuana, and orpington)

The nest box is about 18" off the ground. Should I try to relocate the hen before giving her the chicks, or put a mountain of wood shavings under it? I'm kind of afraid to move her.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't have any experience with Silkies so I don't know the total nujmber of chicks a Silkie can keep warm and take care of in your climate. I don't know if six is too many or not. However, the breeds don't matter to her. Of that, I am confident.

As far as the hen being able to get the chicks off the nest, 18" is no big deal. She will tell them to get down and they will. The question comes in as to where she will want them to go at night. The ones I am familiar with do not take the chicks back to the nest at night. They sleep on the floor of the coop with the chicks under them, just nestled down in the bedding. That's nice since it keeps the nest clean. But many people on here have posted that their hen's try to get the chicks back into the nest at night.

I don't know what your set-up is. You might try setting up a place she can take them on the floor of the coop, maybe a 5 gallon bucket or milk crate with bedding, and see if she will take them in there. What I'd do is nothing. I'd let Mama handle it and try to stay out of her way. She'll probably do better without my help. But I would also check at bedtime that first night and see what she does. We do lovingly call them bird brains for a reason. She might do something that puts her chicks at risk.