We have 10 bantam Ameraucana day-olds on the way from John Blehm at the end of the month. Having had chicks in the laundry room for 6 weeks before, I'm finding the idea of sneaking at least some of them under our broody Silkie and letting her raise them outside a very appealing idea. I know this has to be done carefully, but she's so desperate to be a mom that I love the idea of giving her some babies to raise, and having at least some out of the house sounds good too. How many chicks could a Silkie mom handle? I'm pretty sure 10's too many for her, but if we gave her 5 and tried to introduce the other 5 to the little flock when they go out at 6 weeks, will we have big integration issues?
Also, anyone ever take their chicks off the heat lamp and put them outside before 6 weeks? (Can you tell I'm eager to keep that awful bigger-chick-dust to a minimum?)
Also, anyone ever take their chicks off the heat lamp and put them outside before 6 weeks? (Can you tell I'm eager to keep that awful bigger-chick-dust to a minimum?)
