is this a good way to raise chicks

[sydney13]

ok so heres my plan for getting chickens. First ill buy buy a silkie from a asian live poultry market because rescuing a silkie seems better then buying one from a breeder. Then once she is settled in to her new coop i will let her sit on some not fertile eggs to make her broody. Then i get 5 chicks from a hatchery and have her raise them.
are their any things that could go wrong that i should know about, like if she doesn't except the new chicks?
What will happen when the chicks get older, will she start to be aggressive to them to show shes not their mother any more or will they all will together with no problem? If the chicks have a mother to keep them warm will the still need a heat lamp (im getting them in april)? And is their a good chance that one of them will die or do you think they all will survive? What are the chances that i will find a dead chicks in the mail when they arrive?

 

[bantyshanty]

I've never done this, so I'm not an expert, but.... I don't think even a silkie will just start to mother some chicks she hasn't hatched. I do have silkies & I raised them from eggs. They're very docile, after months of daily attention... I would get a cheap --used-- incubator as a backup, order some eggs after she's been broody for you a few times, and have her sit on the eggs you order. Rescuing a silkie sounds really nice

, but it might take her a while to tame down & get broody. Her feed probably hasn't been very healthy, and her treatment won't have been very nice. I would research which BYCer near you has the breed of eggs you want, and then plan to order eggs from them instead of using a hatchery for chicks, if you want your silkie hen to be a mom. Good luck