- Sep 14, 2007
- 416
- 29
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Has anyone experienced the following with a silkie hen...
.My top hen has over the years hatched around 19 batches of chicks. Then come last december 2012 I replaced the real 10 eggs with fakes.... mom sat on those for 22 days and was not pleased they did not hatch.....,, The new season was upon us 2013 so she got a n early start and she stashed 19 eggs.....too cold for chicks to hatch and i did the switch and she was not pleased..... ...so then she stashed 26 eggs and I felt sorry for her, so I took the eggs away she looked at me with indignation and then realized I had 6 eggs for her and 5 for another hen to incubate...she was happy.!!!
(Now just so you all know she will only lay her eggs in a large dog carrier in side our home......She looks to me to "care for her eggs" till she is ready to go broody.)--- I checked for viability and from both broody hens and gave her all the real ones and some fake to the other hen who was moved to the hen house. So mama raises 9 beautiful chicks and all is well.
A few months later she has stashed 19 eggs.....I replaced them with fakes and she fully broody....I slowly take away 10 eggs since 19 is way too many....then....I again slip in at night and remove a few more leaving her with 6. As of yesterday she is still quite broody but is now laying eggs to add to her clutch?? As weird as it may sound I swear my gal can count!! In the past she always knew if I took a few and would raise hell till I replaced the ones I took.
I want her to finish this brood cycle so she can have real eggs to hatch come late june. What do I do now? I dont want her to exhaust herself! Any Ideas? She is the ultimate mama.
.My top hen has over the years hatched around 19 batches of chicks. Then come last december 2012 I replaced the real 10 eggs with fakes.... mom sat on those for 22 days and was not pleased they did not hatch.....,, The new season was upon us 2013 so she got a n early start and she stashed 19 eggs.....too cold for chicks to hatch and i did the switch and she was not pleased..... ...so then she stashed 26 eggs and I felt sorry for her, so I took the eggs away she looked at me with indignation and then realized I had 6 eggs for her and 5 for another hen to incubate...she was happy.!!!
(Now just so you all know she will only lay her eggs in a large dog carrier in side our home......She looks to me to "care for her eggs" till she is ready to go broody.)--- I checked for viability and from both broody hens and gave her all the real ones and some fake to the other hen who was moved to the hen house. So mama raises 9 beautiful chicks and all is well.
A few months later she has stashed 19 eggs.....I replaced them with fakes and she fully broody....I slowly take away 10 eggs since 19 is way too many....then....I again slip in at night and remove a few more leaving her with 6. As of yesterday she is still quite broody but is now laying eggs to add to her clutch?? As weird as it may sound I swear my gal can count!! In the past she always knew if I took a few and would raise hell till I replaced the ones I took.
I want her to finish this brood cycle so she can have real eggs to hatch come late june. What do I do now? I dont want her to exhaust herself! Any Ideas? She is the ultimate mama.
It can have it's perks at times but I don't want her to completely exhaust herself like you said too!
