New hatchlings

[Rstine]

My silkie hen has recently started laying. I am planning on letting her hatch some out when ever she takes a notion. I've never let a hen go broody and was wondering; do you remove the chick s from her when they hatch or let her do the work? She and her mate are the only bantems in our flock which includes guineas, turkeys, ducks, and 10 other chickens who free range if that makes any difference.

 

[AlleysChicks]

Leave them with her. She’ll take care of them. It’d be cruel to let her do all that work incubating then take her babies from her.

 

[AmazingRachel]

You can leave the chicks with her. She'll do all the work. You may want to house them separately from the rest of the flock (maybe a corner of the coop where you could put up some chicken wire) so that the chicks aren't pecked at and to provide them chick starter or starter/grower feed.

 

[Ameraucana5]

I would agree. Separate the chicks and the hen from the flock. But keep them along the same fence so that the hen doesn't have to be reintroduced to the flock as a stranger.

 

[Teila]

's above with which I totally agree.

Definitely let her raise them; not only will she be happy and proud, watching her raise those chicks is something that you will thoroughly enjoy. I do not think I will ever tire of watching a mumma hen and her babies; the twinkle in her eye is priceless!

 

[Ameraucana5]

It's both adorable and a symbol of the country side.

 

[wamtazlady]

it's lovely to watch a hen raise her chicks. A couple years ago the hen I thought had died showed up with 10 chicks. I herded them into the screened in porch. Several days later I left the porch door propped open so she could take them out if she wanted. She did take them outside. She taught the other chickens, the ducks, the geese, and even the cats to stay away from her little ones. To this day the cats won't go near chicks. Every evening she'd take them back to the screened porch. At 3 weeks old she figured they were old enough for the coop. Led them up the ramp and onto a roost for the night. Fascinating how she knew just the right thing to do.

 

[Rstine]

Thanks for the advice. That is pretty much what I thought... keep chicks with the hen and separate from the flock. Now I just need to let springtime in New Mexico work it's magic.