Our silkie decided to go broody this week and is now sitting on a clutch of 12 eggs. These are our first chickens (and had actually only been getting eggs from them for about a month LoL Brats!!) and while we did get these guys as chicks they were about 3 weeks old and we lived in an old house that had radiators and just kept them in a box against the rads with a blanket over top and they move closer or away as it they needed to stay warm, it worked really well for us. I'm just really paranoid about a heat lamp in the house and we don't have any barns or outbuildings. We're in Ontario and it's getting pretty cold at night here, like low 20s will we be able to leave the chicks with their mom or should we be prepared to bring them into a brooder box?
Mom will take care of them babies. My silkies are excellent mommies. I have one that is determined to be a mommy year round. She is on her second brood this year.
I figure she'll do a great job on her own, but I guess we'd better buy proper brooder supplies 'just in case' as we don't have the heating options we used to.
Quote:I think that's wise. In the ordinary course of things, the chicks would snuggle under the hen when they need to warm up, but since this clutch is hatching way out of season, it may be too cold for them to stay out from under the hen long enough to eat properly.
I just had a hen hatch one little chick and it was 32 degrees yesterday and she was out with it and feeding at two days old. Sheesh! chick will be fine. I have another one due any day now. It is late in the season, but they know what they are doing and I'm sure that my and your chicks will be just fine.
Mom should do an awesome job; but "just in case" keep a brooder handy. My little Silkie went broody and hatched 10 chicks. Unfortunately, in the beginning she never left the nest and so the first baby died after 3 days since it could not eat. I ended up removing all the remaining 9 babies and raising them in a brooder.
