My Broody Hen is finally getting chicks...now what??

Silkiechicmom

Chirping
Nov 27, 2019
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Hello!

My silkie hen has been broody for almost a month. I have finally sourced some silkie chicks and I am planning on getting a few and sticking them under her come nightfall. I would love advice on this process. Do I need an additional heat source in the coop? I have a radiant heat (brinsea) that I used when my current chicks were little? I am going to put chick starter and a waterer in the nesting box area for them....am I missing anything? I am planning on monitoring for an hour or so to see if she is taking to them...if it seems like she is rejecting them, I will take them out and put them in a brooder in the garage until they are old enough for introductions. Any/All advice is very needed and welcomed!

Thank you!!
 
I do not aid chicks that are being cared for by hens. Silkies are the only breed I even buy crumble starter food for. Otherwise they get crumble layer feed no matter what because they’re with the entire flock still.

Obviously if the hen doesn’t accept you’ll need to raise them with all the fun brooder equipment, etc. I wish you luck and hope mom loves them!
 
Hello!

My silkie hen has been broody for almost a month. I have finally sourced some silkie chicks and I am planning on getting a few and sticking them under her come nightfall. I would love advice on this process. Do I need an additional heat source in the coop? I have a radiant heat (brinsea) that I used when my current chicks were little? I am going to put chick starter and a waterer in the nesting box area for them....am I missing anything? I am planning on monitoring for an hour or so to see if she is taking to them...if it seems like she is rejecting them, I will take them out and put them in a brooder in the garage until they are old enough for introductions. Any/All advice is very needed and welcomed!

Thank you!!
It sounds like you have everything covered. Just be sure to watch her and the chicks carefully when they're first introduced so you can take them out quickly if anything goes wrong. If giving her chicks doesn't work because she doesn't take to them, then you could try giving her some fertilized eggs which she might take to better because if she lays on them and hatches them she may think they're her own, where-as she may not take already hatched chicks to be her own. I wish you luck!
 
I don't really have any helpful advice for you, but I was in a similar situation last week. One of my silkies had been broody for about a month and a half, and a day before we bought the chicks to put under her she broke out of her broody trance :rolleyes:.
I want to follow this thread to see how it goes though, and good luck!
I will say though that someone on here told me it is better to make sure she is in a kind of dark place (or it is night time) when you put the chicks under, apparently she is more likely to take to them then.
I hope everything goes well, keep us updated! :pop
 
I do not aid chicks that are being cared for by hens. Silkies are the only breed I even buy crumble starter food for. Otherwise they get crumble layer feed no matter what because they’re with the entire flock still.

Obviously if the hen doesn’t accept you’ll need to raise them with all the fun brooder equipment, etc. I wish you luck and hope mom loves them!
Thank you!! Can I ask, do you handle the the chicks or leave them alone? My hens are very docile and I have raised them since incubating their eggs....but I don't want to stress them out!
 
I don't really have any helpful advice for you, but I was in a similar situation last week. One of my silkies had been broody for about a month and a half, and a day before we bought the chicks to put under her she broke out of her broody trance :rolleyes:.
I want to follow this thread to see how it goes though, and good luck!
I will say though that someone on here told me it is better to make sure she is in a kind of dark place (or it is night time) when you put the chicks under, apparently she is more likely to take to them then.
I hope everything goes well, keep us updated! :pop

Thank you!! All of my silkies have been broody at some point, but this girl is so persistent!! it breaks my heart...and we don't have a rooster, so I couldn't let her set her own eggs.
 
Thank you!! Can I ask, do you handle the the chicks or leave them alone? My hens are very docile and I have raised them since incubating their eggs....but I don't want to stress them out!

I don’t handle them because my chickens are psychotic and attack me BUT I put on a sweatshirt and gloves yesterday to make sure the chicks could get out of the nest (milk crate) and I dipped their beak in the water for good measure (usually do this if you ever get new chicks). I found them back in the milk crate the next day so I really didn’t need to meddle in their business. I’m sure they 100% would’ve been fine without me.

I put a camera in there today and found the mom would jump out and bring them for food and water and go back in the nest. I feel like we all worry too much and should trust our chicken mamas more.

I don’t think there is a problem with touching them, it’ll stress the mom out but that’s about it.
 
I don’t handle them because my chickens are psychotic and attack me BUT I put on a sweatshirt and gloves yesterday to make sure the chicks could get out of the nest (milk crate) and I dipped their beak in the water for good measure (usually do this if you ever get new chicks). I found them back in the milk crate the next day so I really didn’t need to meddle in their business. I’m sure they 100% would’ve been fine without me.

I put a camera in there today and found the mom would jump out and bring them for food and water and go back in the nest. I feel like we all worry too much and should trust our chicken mamas more.

I don’t think there is a problem with touching them, it’ll stress the mom out but that’s about it.
Just curious, who all attacks you? If it's the roosters/rooster that would make sense...but like, do all your hens attack you? Or are you saying the broody hens attack you? Or is it just some particulair hens...I've never heard of attack chickens before...XD I guess there's a first time for everything.
 

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