Multiple brooding silkies: is it a safe method?

[Eelantha]

Update: well folks, it seems my question has been answered by the silkie herself. I only managed to find one year old hen at this time of year, and she is completely and utterly uninterested in brooding. I've put eggs in her nesting box to entice her to brood after a few days of quiet to get acquainted with her new environment, but she went and pooped on the eggs, slept on them at night, then left them to cool off completely the next day. This happens every day. She doesn't roost (yet the roost is low for her as I read silkies can't fly), stays in the nest even with or without eggs at night only, poops into said nest, and if capable she'll bowl it over the first chance she gets. She will also try and crash-land the water bowl while she's at it, and the few times I've tried to put her with the chicks to see if she'd calm down and be more understanding, she pecked them and tore off some feathers. My chicks are traumatized. She also screams bloody murder every time I try to handle her in any way, and even almost charged me once.

This is one momma that doesn't fit the standard of her race, at least in temperament. Next time I want chicks, I'll buy an incubator instead of seeking out silkie breeders for help. I think it'll be a good investment if it can save me plenty of woes in the future.

 

[aart]

well folks, it seems my question has been answered by the silkie herself. I only managed to find one year old hen at this time of year, and she is completely and utterly uninterested in brooding.

You didn't really expect to bring a new bird into your flock and have her go right to a nest to brood, did you?
Need to let her settle into the new place, then she might go broody.

 

[Eelantha]

You didn't really expect to bring a new bird into your flock and have her go right to a nest to brood, did you?
Need to let her settle into the new place, then she might go broody.

I did let her settle down, physically (but not visually) isolated from the chicks, for a least a week before introducing the eggs in the nesting box. She is still isolated, with only the metal wire separating her pen from that of the chicks, so they can see each other and, in her case, not fall depressive via lack of company. If introducing the eggs after 1 week's stay was too soon that is my beginner's mistake (first time with this breed), but with plenty of room to walk in, lots of food and water, a low roosting perch to sleep on, a comfortable nesting box to lay eggs in, and small, regular treats to keep the boredom at bay, I'd have thought she'd at least have mellowed out a bit in temperament... But nope, still as wild as a bird can be.

I don't expect the wilderness to ever truly fade, but at this point if she can mellow out in temperament, it'd be great. However like you said, if letting a new bird settle down takes a long time (like, a really long time), I'll have to wait next year to see if she's comfortable enough to brood. Provided, of course, that she mellows out first. If she doesn't, then for the safety of the rest of my flock, I'll have no choice but to return her to her breeder u_u

 

[NNYchick]

There’s no way she would be comfortable and settled enough to go broody after a week. Yes Silkies are broodier than most but they are not machines. I have 8 Silkie hens at the moment not one time have I had one be broody when I wanted, I just take advantage when they are and use my incubator if I want chicks at a certain time. I had one girl that was2 years old when she was taken by a Fox and she never went broody.
None of my Silkies have ever roosted even after going out at dusk every day for 6 months I just gave up, they sleep huddled in a pile, so if you only have one you might want to think about getting her a buddy. Last summer I had an issue with them sleeping in nest boxes after hatching season but I moved the nest boxes around and that stopped thank goodness.
How old is she? My pullets put up a fuss if I pick them up right around point of lay they settle down and don’t mind me picking them up for their check over. My suspicion is that she is in a new place with a new flock and she doesn’t know you. Squat down and hand feed her treats she’ll come around. She will also be on edge if her crest is so big she doesn’t see well. If you hold her at eye level and you can’t see her eyes she can’t see well and you may have to trim.

 

[Mylied]

It's never safe to put young chicks in with adult birds that aren't the parent that is currently hatching and raising them. Even the sweetest bird will go after them. Just how chickens are. Now my broodies can bring their chicks around the flock without problems because she kicks the butt of anyone that looks at them sideways. Alone, they are defenseless.

As for your silkie, once she's comfortable and laying good, she'll probably go broody. Then stick the eggs you want to hatch under her.

When the chicks you have now are closer to her size and they've seen each other a few weeks, they can be integrated without too much squabbling. They do tend to fuss at each a bit while establishing pecking order.

 

[Eelantha]

@NNYchick - I'm pretty sure they aren't machines lol. However from all the talk on various forums from all around the world about how often people bemoan the broodiness of a silkie, and how (involuntarily) easy it was to trigger that instinct at any time of the year with a clutch of eggs in a nest box if said eggs weren't fetched quickly enough each day, I figured getting mine to brood would be just as easy once the stress of moving coops abated. How wrong I was!

The breeder said my silkie was around a year old (and yes she is laying right now, has been doing so for almost a week). Yes she is alone, as she was literally the only silkie I could find on sale. I've looked all around me and quite far; there's no other silkies up for grabs, so my only silkie she is. I'd say she has the same (if a bit smaller) crest size as that of a crested legbar, with the eyes clear of hair and feathers. I see no signs of trimming around her head and eyes though. I'm not sure, but it's (maybe?) possible her breeder selected for clear-crested eyes to avoid having to trim his silkies every now and then. Not sure if clear-crested eyes fall short of the breed standard, but I can't deny how useful this is with an uncooperative silkie. With how much mine struggles in my hands despite my holding her as calmly and gently as possible, I wouldn't dare take a pair of scissors near her face for fear of wounding her.

My fingers are crossed that my silkie takes to the roosts via the chicks doing it themselves. As it is they're the ones showing her how things work around here, so hopefully she'll start mimicking them eventually. The water nipples are one thing I'd like her to take to, as the overturned water bowl is starting to become the bane of my existence, right after the soiled nest bedding.

And I am squatting down to hand-feed her treats. She either ignores me (sometimes), moves away (alot) or tries to peck my fingers (a few times, ow) when I stand still with a treat in hand. Most often she won't eat anything unless I retreat, and even then she clucks at the treat like it's an alien about to eat her. I had to improvise via the chicks to get her to try any treat I brought to the coop, otherwise she'll avoid it like the plague. Getting her to eat treats is my only victory so far.

 

[centrarchid]

An infusion of patience needed.