How many can she raise???

[quiltnchik]

I have a Silkie hen that just went broody, and 14 Silkie chicks that just hatched yesterday in the incubator. How many chicks should I give to the hen? How many can she raise? They're being kept in the house in a dog crate until our weather breaks.

 

[ralleia]

She could probably raise all 14, if not more. But if she "just went broody," then she might not be ready to transition into mothering yet.

I usually wait 21 days before introducing chicks to a broody hen. Not saying that it might not work to introduce them earlier than that (no matter what humans think or say, the chicken gets the deciding vote!), but I've never tried it before about the 21-day point.

 

[Faye Rhoden]

I agree wholeheartedly.

 

[Chilifur]

My Silkie was broody (& not laying eggs anymore) for 4 days before I stuck 11 Houdan babies under her. Of course, I put her in the brooder box and stuck a bunch of food under her nose so she was so busy eating that she paid no attention to the chicks. Also, I took her out of the nest she was in (with her wooden eggs) and brought her in the house - basically shook up the whole project she had going.

She was experienced in fostering when I got her - perhaps the difference is in when they go broody for the first time?

Admittedly, I had no idea what she would do and so started with just 2 chicks. When she ignored them (that was a good sign), I added more. This was the first time I'd tried using a foster momma and everything was going well until day 12 when one was strangled in some matted fluff. Took her out, bathed her completely, cut off any and all mats I could find, blow-dried her thoroughly, and she couldn't get back to those babies fast enough.

As for the original question - it seemed as if 11 was too many because there always seemed to be at least 2 or 3 that got shoved out, but after a few days, she and the chicks worked it out so that she actually covered all of them completely.

Hope this helps!