My 7 year old DD is expecting 10 bantam Ameraucana day-olds due to hatch and ship on Monday. These are her first show birds, and we had intended to brood them inside under a light. Now our circumstances have changed and our house is going to be on the market, which means I'm very eager to try to slip these babies under a foster broody and let her do the work since I really can't have them in the house. (Unfortunately we have no garage.) Alas, the set up is not ideal. I do have a broody bantam white Wyandotte, but she is small and one of the least friendly of the hens and I'm worried that she'll never let DD touch her babies, which is not good if these are going to be her 4-H and show birds. I had hoped our frequently-broody silkie would get in the mood; she's friendly and would be a great influence (plus she's bigger), but no go. SO, here's what I'm wondering:
We are running out of time here. I built a broody house and pen, so we can move the Wyandotte and get her set up on her own since she's the only broody girl I have. I know that silkies have a reputation for being very eager mommas, so even though ours isn't broody at the moment I was toying with the idea of moving her into the broody house with the Wyandotte (it's spacious enough), on the off chance that if the Wyandotte doesn't accept the babies, the silkie might. Is this a dumb idea? We intend to sneak the babies under the broody at night, and I do know I'll be out there with a flashlight and my ear to the house for a few hours to make sure all goes well. I suppose in the worst case scenario, if neither hen wants the babies, I could run a light out to the broody house and close it up, but that makes me nervous. The stakes are a lot higher if the light goes out at night and the babies are outside on a chilly April evening.
Also, are these babies destined to be just as skittish as their momma, or will they be tamed easily enough with frequent handling and treats? Both of our Wyandotte girls were super docile chicks, but as adults they're pretty standoffish.
We are running out of time here. I built a broody house and pen, so we can move the Wyandotte and get her set up on her own since she's the only broody girl I have. I know that silkies have a reputation for being very eager mommas, so even though ours isn't broody at the moment I was toying with the idea of moving her into the broody house with the Wyandotte (it's spacious enough), on the off chance that if the Wyandotte doesn't accept the babies, the silkie might. Is this a dumb idea? We intend to sneak the babies under the broody at night, and I do know I'll be out there with a flashlight and my ear to the house for a few hours to make sure all goes well. I suppose in the worst case scenario, if neither hen wants the babies, I could run a light out to the broody house and close it up, but that makes me nervous. The stakes are a lot higher if the light goes out at night and the babies are outside on a chilly April evening.
Also, are these babies destined to be just as skittish as their momma, or will they be tamed easily enough with frequent handling and treats? Both of our Wyandotte girls were super docile chicks, but as adults they're pretty standoffish.
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