Our dear little black Silkie hen went broody a month ago and the five other hens pecked her top knot off. (they all want to lay in the one nest!)
She was bloody so I made her a bonnet with a small piece of sheeting and duct tape wrapped under her chin. I was afraid they'd eat her brains!
She seemed hypnotized and unable to fend them off. I had to replace the bonnet every two days as it would appear at random places in the run.
I finally took mercy on her as an acknowledgment to her dedication and bought two Plymouth Barred Rock chicks.
I kept them in a box in the bathtub under a light until at 5 days old they started hopping out of the box (yes, I kept the PLUG IN THE TUB!).
So, last night I waited until it was good and dark and slipped them under her.
I kinda expected to see them either dead and stiff or half-eaten by the others this morning.
I went out just before the crack of dawn - hoping no one had seen the babies and hurt them, and let the 5 trouble-maker aunties out.
The silkie didn't go out so I didn't force her figuring she had more sense than me... and around noon-ish I just shut the pop door and put food and water dishes
in for her & the kids. I'm afraid the others will sneak in and eat the babies if they have access. I will leave the aunties out until good and dark, then let them into
the coop and lock up.
I have nowhere else to put Momma and kiddos, so I hope this will work until I think they can join the flock.
I'm probably making a Big Deal of nothing, chickens have survived for millennium without coddling!
Well, Silkie is hideous, she looks both like a dinosaur and an alien. But - you know her chicks think she's beautiful.
She was beautiful before and I sure hope her feathers grow back but we love her all the same.
My Mother is beautiful!
EDITED TO ADD HAPPY MOTHERS DAY - EVEN IF A LITTLE EARLY. MY OWN MOTHER IS GONE BUT ALWAYS REMEMBERED AND LOVED.
She was bloody so I made her a bonnet with a small piece of sheeting and duct tape wrapped under her chin. I was afraid they'd eat her brains!
She seemed hypnotized and unable to fend them off. I had to replace the bonnet every two days as it would appear at random places in the run.
I finally took mercy on her as an acknowledgment to her dedication and bought two Plymouth Barred Rock chicks.
I kept them in a box in the bathtub under a light until at 5 days old they started hopping out of the box (yes, I kept the PLUG IN THE TUB!).
So, last night I waited until it was good and dark and slipped them under her.
I kinda expected to see them either dead and stiff or half-eaten by the others this morning.
I went out just before the crack of dawn - hoping no one had seen the babies and hurt them, and let the 5 trouble-maker aunties out.
The silkie didn't go out so I didn't force her figuring she had more sense than me... and around noon-ish I just shut the pop door and put food and water dishes
in for her & the kids. I'm afraid the others will sneak in and eat the babies if they have access. I will leave the aunties out until good and dark, then let them into
the coop and lock up.
I have nowhere else to put Momma and kiddos, so I hope this will work until I think they can join the flock.
I'm probably making a Big Deal of nothing, chickens have survived for millennium without coddling!
Well, Silkie is hideous, she looks both like a dinosaur and an alien. But - you know her chicks think she's beautiful.
She was beautiful before and I sure hope her feathers grow back but we love her all the same.
EDITED TO ADD HAPPY MOTHERS DAY - EVEN IF A LITTLE EARLY. MY OWN MOTHER IS GONE BUT ALWAYS REMEMBERED AND LOVED.
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