Silkie thread!

[chicken pickin]

My broody hatched a lone baby chick (she had 2 one died, I think she killed it). Some of you may remember me mentioning a little while back that my broody hatched 3 chicks and killed them or accidentally didn't show them to eat and drink. I was thinking it would take her some practice and allowed her to go broody again, but when I found she had newly hatched chicks yesterday and one was dead it made me a little nervous. The 2nd looks good and she coos at it but Im not sure she is really tending to it. The chick doesn't seem to ever be under the broody(there is a heat lamp for supplemental warmth) and it looks like the chick tries to go under but the broody doesn't budge, almost like she thinks she is still on eggs and she is not.

Any tips to help encourage her to be Mama now, I would hate to lose another chick but would like it if my Silkie could to get practice and learn to be a great broody even if I need to help her a little bit.

Also when should I throw in the towel with her and not allow her to hatch chicks anymore, its only her second brood and she is just a year old (hatched Jan 1st 2014).

 

[mom of silkies]

I have my leghorns with Buff Orpingtons and Black Austrolorp crosses. I am one of those people who has a coop just for the silkies, but I do have my bantam buff & light Brahmas in with them. Two of my silkies are brooding on some eggs right now. I live in Virginia, so it is cold right now I think I am just going to let them brood. I have been giving them half a orange or apple every day to them in the nest box so they got some because the other silkies & bantams would eat it all if I didn't put it in the nest box. Should I continue to put food in the nest box for my broodies? or should I make them come out of the nest box?

 

[nayeli]

My broody hatched a lone baby chick (she had 2 one died, I think she killed it). Some of you may remember me mentioning a little while back that my broody hatched 3 chicks and killed them or accidentally didn't show them to eat and drink. I was thinking it would take her some practice and allowed her to go broody again, but when I found she had newly hatched chicks yesterday and one was dead it made me a little nervous. The 2nd looks good and she coos at it but Im not sure she is really tending to it. The chick doesn't seem to ever be under the broody(there is a heat lamp for supplemental warmth) and it looks like the chick tries to go under but the broody doesn't budge, almost like she thinks she is still on eggs and she is not.

Any tips to help encourage her to be Mama now, I would hate to lose another chick but would like it if my Silkie could to get practice and learn to be a great broody even if I need to help her a little bit.

Also when should I throw in the towel with her and not allow her to hatch chicks anymore, its only her second brood and she is just a year old (hatched Jan 1st 2014).

This would probably be my last time letting her be a mommy. I would let her hatch but them bring them in.

 

[chickee]

My broody hatched a lone baby chick (she had 2 one died, I think she killed it). Some of you may remember me mentioning a little while back that my broody hatched 3 chicks and killed them or accidentally didn't show them to eat and drink. I was thinking it would take her some practice and allowed her to go broody again, but when I found she had newly hatched chicks yesterday and one was dead it made me a little nervous. The 2nd looks good and she coos at it but Im not sure she is really tending to it. The chick doesn't seem to ever be under the broody(there is a heat lamp for supplemental warmth) and it looks like the chick tries to go under but the broody doesn't budge, almost like she thinks she is still on eggs and she is not.

Any tips to help encourage her to be Mama now, I would hate to lose another chick but would like it if my Silkie could to get practice and learn to be a great broody even if I need to help her a little bit.

Also when should I throw in the towel with her and not allow her to hatch chicks anymore, its only her second brood and she is just a year old (hatched Jan 1st 2014).

Awww, that is too bad

The Silkie broody I gave eggs to for the NYD hatch-a-long did not keep the eggs warm and they all died. She didn't seem to understand they needed to stay "under" her

Yesterday I tried giving her the chicks I brooded in the incubator, but she made a mmmmmm growl like they might be some interesting kind of food and proceeded to peck them!

So she got put back out with the flock and the chicks went into the brooder. I don't think I will trust her to brood eggs again.

 

[kabhyper1]

My rainbow of silkies. It's cold. They are piled up on a dog kennel heat plate. There are 25 of them there believe it or not. 11 of them are only 3 months old, so the don't take up much space.

 

[chicken pickin]

What is a typical housing for Silkies through harsh cold winters? Do you all keep them housed the same year round or do you make special arrangements for them during winter time?

Currently I have a 2 Silkies in with 3 young Cream legbar in a small coop. They Sleep in a pile on the floor with the exception of one Legbar that roosts. It gets cold here, tonight is supposed to be a low of 5 degrees. I also have 1Silkie in the garage with the newly hatched chick with a heat lamp since they don't have flock mates to keep them warm. I prefer to avoid heat lamps as I know it messes with them especially if I were to remove the lamp. Can Silkies make it ok through the winter with out special accommodations? I always prefer chickens that need no extra special attention but I enjoy my Silkies and want to make sure they are safe.

 

[chicken pickin]

This would probably be my last time letting her be a mommy. I would let her hatch but them bring them in.

Thanks I appreciate your opinion.

Awww, that is too bad

The Silkie broody I gave eggs to for the NYD hatch-a-long did not keep the eggs warm and they all died. She didn't seem to understand they needed to stay "under" her

Yesterday I tried giving her the chicks I brooded in the incubator, but she made a mmmmmm growl like they might be some interesting kind of food and proceeded to peck them!

So she got put back out with the flock and the chicks went into the brooder. I don't think I will trust her to brood eggs again.

So far so good. The chick is still ok and mama is now letting her go under her with ease. I also saw her dropping food for the chick and making the noise to encourage her to eat. To help I also lowered the water and bought it as close as I could so the chick could find it easier. Tonight I will go out and dip her beak into the water to be sure she knows where water is.

 

[nayeli]

I'm getting ansy waiting for eggs to hatch! I wish I knew how long she has been broody for to know whether I'm looking towards chicks any day now or in another week! (I know it has been at least 2 weeks).

 

[cream puff]

My rainbow of silkies. It's cold. They are piled up on a dog kennel heat plate. There are 25 of them there believe it or not. 11 of them are only 3 months old, so the don't take up much space.

they look like tribbles

 

[missbecky]

What is a typical housing for Silkies through harsh cold winters? Do you all keep them housed the same year round or do you make special arrangements for them during winter time?

Currently I have a 2 Silkies in with 3 young Cream legbar in a small coop. They Sleep in a pile on the floor with the exception of one Legbar that roosts. It gets cold here, tonight is supposed to be a low of 5 degrees. I also have 1Silkie in the garage with the newly hatched chick with a heat lamp since they don't have flock mates to keep them warm. I prefer to avoid heat lamps as I know it messes with them especially if I were to remove the lamp. Can Silkies make it ok through the winter with out special accommodations? I always prefer chickens that need no extra special attention but I enjoy my Silkies and want to make sure they are safe.

I had the same concerns, and had read extensively on the subject, as well as asking here in BYC...

The consensus is that they will be fine. Especially huddled with the other chickens for warmth.

The worst thing is humidity. So keeping them dry, and draft free is the key.

Using artificial heat could be a problem for fire reasons, or if the power goes out, then the sudden drop in temperature could be deadly. It's best to let them be, and they will acclimate to the temperature.

A doctor friend of ours mentioned the other day that if you think of all those little birds you see outside can survive the winters then surely the chickens in a coop will do just fine.

...makes sense.