Silkies!?! So many questions/ concerns please help!

[Mwing14]

Okay I have a couple questions about my silkies. First off at what age are silkie roosters able to mate? I know it takes Silkie hens quite a while before they start laying but are the roosters different? Like are they able to mate earlier with maybe a chicken that is older and is able to lay eggs? Sorry if I made that confusing. Also I know silkie hens are very good mothers but when does that instinct kick in? Do they have to be able to lay eggs in order to be able to take care of a baby chick. You see someone offered to give me a baby silkie and I would like to be able to put it in the coop hoping the hens could take care of it, but my hens are only 6 months old and have not started to lay yet so I'm not sure if they would know to take care of the little baby. I still consider them my littl babies haha so I don't really see them caring for anyone but themselves yet. Also I have 5 roosters and they all get along with the hens and eachother for the most part but I'd be afraid one of them might pick on the baby chick and hurt it by accident. My main concern here is the baby I would just like to know if it'd be a bad idea putting it in the coop with silkies that might not be able to care for it. If anyone can please help I'd really appreciate I'm a first time chicken owner so sorry if any of my questions are dumb. Thank you so much!

 

[Mama Hen Chris]

Okay I have a couple questions about my silkies. First off at what age are silkie roosters able to mate? I know it takes Silkie hens quite a while before they start laying but are the roosters different? Like are they able to mate earlier with maybe a chicken that is older and is able to lay eggs? Sorry if I made that confusing. Also I know silkie hens are very good mothers but when does that instinct kick in? Do they have to be able to lay eggs in order to be able to take care of a baby chick. You see someone offered to give me a baby silkie and I would like to be able to put it in the coop hoping the hens could take care of it, but my hens are only 6 months old and have not started to lay yet so I'm not sure if they would know to take care of the little baby. I still consider them my littl babies haha so I don't really see them caring for anyone but themselves yet. Also I have 5 roosters and they all get along with the hens and eachother for the most part but I'd be afraid one of them might pick on the baby chick and hurt it by accident. My main concern here is the baby I would just like to know if it'd be a bad idea putting it in the coop with silkies that might not be able to care for it. If anyone can please help I'd really appreciate I'm a first time chicken owner so sorry if any of my questions are dumb. Thank you so much!

Hi and welcome to BYC...if you have questions about your silkies...check with Sonoran Silkies. She lives in Tempe. Have you joined us on the Arizona Chicken thread? Great people on there.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/31227/arizona-chickens/31340#post_9730438