Silkie broody, can she brood 22 chicks?

[bauerdog]

I hatched out 22 chicks in my brinsea yesterday. My Silkie has been broody for over a month. I think she will take chicks, but should I just give her all of them? Do you just tuck them in overnight and walk away? I have her in a smaller enclosure within the main coop. There are 20 adults there. It was just under 90 today, so it should be plenty warm in there. What do you guys think?

 

[ChickenGrass]

hi
I would not give her all the chicks for 2 reasons
1.she may not take the chicks and she might kill them
2.she would not be able to cover them all and keep them all warm
the max I would give her would be 8-10 chicks

I have recently given a hen a chick and she took it without any problems
and I have also done this with many other broodys too

You put the chicks under the hens wings during the night when the hen is asleep
don't put the hen out with the other hens until the chicks are 8 weeks old and are
ready to be weaned off the hen

when the chicks are weaned off the hen put the chicks into a separate run to the older hens and put the broody back into the main run
goodluck
Fionn

 

[bauerdog]

Thanks for the response. I was worried that 22 might be pushing it. The last time she went broody she only hatched one chick so I didn't have a real handle on her capacity in the numbers department. She was an excellent mother last time. She didn't wean her chick until at least 10 weeks.

 

[ChickenGrass]

Ok
That's good
I hope she takes to the chicks

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

If you give her that many, I'd supply a heat lamp for some extra heat. She wont be able to cover them all as tiny babies, and she'll be less able to cover them as they grow. My Silkies can accommodate around 8-10 bantam chicks, or 5-6 standard sized chicks.