I have a silkie hen I got in October as a pullet. She began laying
around the 7th of this month and she's already broody! Every time I go out to get eggs, I find that she has rolled all of them underneath her and I have to pry her up (while getting pecked) to get them. Today she even stole one out from under a hen who was still sitting on it! I went out and found my barred rock hen setting on top of her and when I lifted her up I found the barred rock egg under the silkie. (I had already got all of the eggs besides that one, so I know what happened.)
I got her egg from yesterday off of the counter and an EE egg from yesterday and tried to put them under her. She pecked me, so I laid them in there and watched while she tucked them under herself. I went back later and found the barred rock in there again, trying to get the silkie off of the eggs so SHE could sit on them. The last time I looked, they were sharing. :
So if they hatch I will have a silkie cross and an EE cross. I'm going to seperate mamma hen and the babies because I know the temperment of my chickens and I don't trust them with the babies. Will they be okay in the cold? I set them under her today, so they will be born around the 16th of January! (OMG! I just counted that out, and I will have birthday chickies! My birthday is Jan. 17th!
)
Of course I'll put up a heat lamp and they will have mama to keep them warm too. I need more chickens like I need a hole in the head, but she's going to such great lengths to hatch some babies, and I don't have the heart to let her set there on nothing.
around the 7th of this month and she's already broody! Every time I go out to get eggs, I find that she has rolled all of them underneath her and I have to pry her up (while getting pecked) to get them. Today she even stole one out from under a hen who was still sitting on it! I went out and found my barred rock hen setting on top of her and when I lifted her up I found the barred rock egg under the silkie. (I had already got all of the eggs besides that one, so I know what happened.)
I got her egg from yesterday off of the counter and an EE egg from yesterday and tried to put them under her. She pecked me, so I laid them in there and watched while she tucked them under herself. I went back later and found the barred rock in there again, trying to get the silkie off of the eggs so SHE could sit on them. The last time I looked, they were sharing. :
So if they hatch I will have a silkie cross and an EE cross. I'm going to seperate mamma hen and the babies because I know the temperment of my chickens and I don't trust them with the babies. Will they be okay in the cold? I set them under her today, so they will be born around the 16th of January! (OMG! I just counted that out, and I will have birthday chickies! My birthday is Jan. 17th!
Of course I'll put up a heat lamp and they will have mama to keep them warm too. I need more chickens like I need a hole in the head, but she's going to such great lengths to hatch some babies, and I don't have the heart to let her set there on nothing.