My Silkie eggs are Hatching under my broody, some advice please!

[mommhen]

My Silkie is hatching a small clutch. I poked my head in the maternity ward I made her tonight (it's day 21) and I saw a sweet little yellow face chick poke it's head out from her belly...super excited!!

I'm wondering how long I have to wait to intervene, and when I allowed to hold the babies?

Also when to pick up the egg shells to throw away? Should I leave her completely alone to hatch them all, or should I check the eggs and assist if some don't hatch after a number of days? I am kinda trying to let mother nature do it's thing... Any advice?? This is my first successful hatch.

 

[4chickns]

Yay, congrats on your little chick!! It's really up to you whether to handle them or not. I always pick them up and hold them for a minute, I just make sure mama chicken can see them. Take your cues from her, if she seems stressed by you holding it, put it down and leave her alone, you certainly wouldn't want her abandoning the nest before everyone is hatched.
As far as removing the shells and checking the other eggs, I guess that depends on the person. I've never intervened, I leave mama chicken on the eggs until she decides to get up, they know when everyone is done hatching. I definitely pop in frequently, though, to see how many little ones she has peeking out from under her

 

[blacksilkie]

She knows what to do, in a few days she will be showing them around and taking care of them. I do remove discarded shells just make sure they are not still connected to a chick.

 

[mommhen]

Thanks for the advice!! I poked my head in there tonight and I saw 2 more cute little dry babies come out to say hi.

They are so small and adorable! I will let mommy do her thing until she is ready to leave the nest. Can't wait to officially meet these little babies!

 

[klantes]

Thank you for asking this question - I was just searching the forum for exactly this information! I also have a few Silkie eggs that I think (read: hope!) will be hatching soon. Can I add a question here in case you might know the answer? I have two other hens and a rooster in the same coop. Do I need to segregate the Silkie and her eggs/chicks from the others? Thanks!

 

[CrzyChknLady81]

I would separate her (I use an XL dog kennel covered with a sheet), I leave that crate in the main coop though so that she still feels included. I leave her in that cage over night, but let her out in a separate fenced area inside the bigger fenced area during the day..Hope that helps Best of luck with both of your guys hatches <3

**Edited to add that I use the plastic cat litterboxes with lids as a temporary nest box inside the crate**

 

[mommhen]

My Silkie just hatched 4 of the 6 eggs I let her incubate. There were 2 eggs that she left at the nest, one was piped internally...

I could hear the chick chirping... so what I did was put the egg in a box with pine shavings and my red light.....and about 2 hours later my fiance and I witnessed her hatch out of her shell, happy and healthy!

She sleep in the box over night while she dried with the red light heat lamp.... and the next morning we put her with momma hen in the maternity ward and she was accepted with no problem.

Gotta love mother nature!

Funny, I can already tell the chick we hatched in my house is more attached to us than the others the way she comes up to us when we are near, but hey that's OK!

 

[4chickns]

Congratulations, that's great!

 

[mommhen]

Klantas:: I have a rooster and for the 1st hatch I tried keeping them together and it was no good!

My roo would climb over the eggs and mount my hen while she was trying to to incubate them. So bad idea to keep them together!!

I made a "make-shift" maternity ward in my coop. I just took 1/2 the sleep area and blocked one side off for momma, it worked just fine!

 

[scflock]

Klantas:: I have a rooster and for the 1st hatch I tried keeping them together and it was no good!

My roo would climb over the eggs and mount my hen while she was trying to to incubate them. So bad idea to keep them together!!

I made a "make-shift" maternity ward in my coop. I just took 1/2 the sleep area and blocked one side off for momma, it worked just fine!

I have had just the opposite experience. My large breeds, I have to separate the broodies, but my silkie and d'uccle roosters are awesome daddies, and I have been letting hens hatch and raise chicks inside the coops and main pens for 2 years. I have 7 silkie hens with the rooster, so I usually have at least 4 non-broodies to keep him "occupied". He is very attentive of the new chicks, and gives the mamas their space. The only problem I have had with the silkies is two of them sitting on one nest, then swapping chicks back and forth after they hatch. If I had known more when I had my first broody silkie, I probably would have separated her, but I just let it go the first time and it has been working ever since. I just let the mamas raise them. My d'uccle rooster will even cover chicks while the hen is foraging.

PS. I tried that with cuckoo marans, and the hens killed 4 of them before I knew they had hatched. I guess it all depends on the breed, and even the specific chickens