Only one silkie hatched.... When to introduce her to the others?

[danikiser]

Hello, I had a horrible hatch, of 22 eggs only 2 developed, and only one hatched.

I have 4 silkies, the oldest is about 11 months old, she doesn't seem to be laying eggs just yet, but I incubated some chicks and ducks a couple months back, and she would not leave the babies sides once she found them.

The other one is a sweet heart hen, she's about 5 months old now, super docile.

I just bought a pair, boy and girl, they are about 4 months old I'd say, but I've only had them a couple days.

Anyways, this little new chick is going to get lonely on her own, not sure if I should bring the oldest up to the house to be with her, or take the crate down to their garden with the heater plate? I worry the other hen will be sad on her own, and I'm not sure if the new ones will be nice or not?

Any suggestions?

 

[mesafox101]

idk but i would probably put it with the smallest hen and see how that goes but i may be wrong

 

[lovechikkenmum]

Actually, I had a batch of 10 eggs with a broody hen and only 4 eggs have hatched. I had bought about 4 or 5 new chicks which were maybe 2-3 weeks older than the chicks that have hatched and tried to see if the broody hen would adopt them. What happened was that she would start pecking the new chicks when they would get too close to her own and not let them eat!! She never ended up adopting them and the new chicks would run around in a flock of themselves while following my 2 roosters who are both around 1 year old!!

 

[chuckachucka]

You could try to introduce the lone chick to the older hen to see if she will adopt it as you said she took a liking to some chicks before. This is unlikely though if she isn't currently broody. If she seems interested in the chick you will have to really make sure she has properly taken to mothering it before leaving it with her. Signs that a hen is taking the mother job seriously are tidbitting to show the chick food and encouraging them to snuggle under her when they are cheeping due to cold. Once she has actively moved toward the chick or nudged it under her to sleep it should be ok to leave the chick with the hen outside where she lives, but you would still need to check on it a lot through the first night to ensure she doesn't abandon it to roost. Where does the older hen sleep? Is it possible to put them together in isolation within the coop/run or in a separate area if they get on?

The other hen should get on ok with the two new chickens but it might take a few days for them to live together happily. Ideally you would keep them separate but able to see each other, I.e. Divided by chicken wire inside their run, for a few days. If the five month old hen can see the new pair she shouldn't get lonely without the older hen, if the older hen does end up taking on the chick.

If the older hen does not adopt the chick, the only way would be to raise the chick in a brooder until she is feathered out then keep her in a separated area of the coop/run again where she can see the older chickens until she is big enough to join them. You could try to get one or more other baby chicks to keep her company if possible.