Silkie hatching her own eggs

[Jenclarke23]

Hi there!
My silkie hen has been sitting on her eggs for the past 3 weeks and I noticed three if te 7 eggs hatched sometime this afternoon. I have a couple f questions.

1. When should I take the unhatched eggs out? She's been sitting for 20 days today.
2. Do the chicks need anything different than the other hens? I have chick starter but how would I ensure that the chicks were eating it And not the other hens?

Anything else I should be aware of if I want to let my hen raise her chicks?

Thanks all!
Jen

 

[gryeyes]

I would leave the other eggs until day 25 but that's just me, as I have had late hatchers.

I feed Nutrena All Flock to my entire flock of poultry, all ages, chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys and a peacock. I keep crushed oyster shell in a separate bowl, free choice.

When there are very new or very young chicks, I provide a separate feeder and waterer in that area of the coop, but fill that feeder with chick starter. Momma hens with babies are very fierce, so the general population stays away and eats from the regular feeders.

 

[donrae]

A hatch usually happens over 1-2 days. I leave the eggs until the hen leaves the nest. When she takes the babies out to eat and drink, usually the second or third day, I clean out the shells and unhatched eggs. New hatched chicks don't need to eat or drink for the first 2 days or so, so they're fine to just hang with momma while she lets everyone hatch.

I also feed my entire flock an all-in-one feed and toss a handful of oyster shell in the run for the layers when I think of it. That way all the different ages and genders can eat the same thing.

Congratulations on your new babies! Watching a momma hen with chicks will give you so much insight into how chickens act, and it's just cool!

 

[taterville4]

My silkies started hatching around July 4th for a week. Two silkies are raising 9 chicks. I put rocks in the waterer.

 

[Jenclarke23]

We moved the hen in her nest box inside last night as I noticed one chick had gotten out of the box and possibly stepped on :-( he was pretty lethargic last night but we tucked him under mama and this morning he seems more alert though still not moving about quite as much as the others. We're going to give him another day to see how he improves before we try abything else. There are at least four now ( though possibly more since mama hasn't left the nest box) and two have been out pecking at some crumbles. I can't wait to see if the others hatch!