Two Broodys, 1 nest

[dartmouthchicken]

I gave my broody silkie 1 clutch of fertilized eggs. 17-18 days a barred rock hen got broody and jumped on the nest while the silkie was taking her daily break. The barred rock never let the silkie back on and she is in another nest box with eggs that aren't fertilized. Here we are on day 21 and 5 of 6 eggs hatched. Can I take two of the chicks and put them under the silkie? I was thinking of doing this at night and hope to trick the two hens.

 

[NatJ]

I gave my broody silkie 1 clutch of fertilized eggs. 17-18 days a barred rock hen got broody and jumped on the nest while the silkie was taking her daily break. The barred rock never let the silkie back on and she is in another nest box with eggs that aren't fertilized. Here we are on day 21 and 5 of 6 eggs hatched. Can I take two of the chicks and put them under the silkie? I was thinking of doing this at night and hope to trick the two hens.

Yes, you could try giving some of the chicks to the Silkie. The Silkie will probably be fine with that, and the chicks might accept it as well.

But unless you put one hen and "her" chicks in a separate coop, you might have problems the next day. The Barred Rock might call the chicks back to her (since they hatched under her, they might respond better to her voice.) Or the Barred Rock might try to chase the Silkie away.

So I would not reommend moving chicks to the other hen if you intend to leave both hens in the same coop with each other.

There is a slim chance that they will jointly mother all the chicks, but I think that is quite unlikely. (I've seen it happen with hens who shared a nest, but not with a hen who chased away another hen while they were sitting.)

 

[1muttsfan]

A good sensible answer. I had two silky sisters that co-brooded one time, they were great mothers and worked together, but I would say a barred Rock is a lot less likely to be that kind of bird.