Need Advice - Haching Eggs 2 Ways

[mkolasa]

First time hatching eggs. We have 11 large fowl eggs in and incubator and we have 6 large fowl eggs under our broody Silkie. We have multiple coops so we plan to let our Silkie and her chicks have a 6' x 4' coop all to themselves. I am assuming I cannot stick the other 11 chicks from the incubator under the Silkie as it would be too many babies for her to handle. Would it be okay to put the 11 chicks from the incubator in the coop with the Silkie, and her 6 chicks, if I put a heat source in the coop like I would a brooder? The nesting boxes with the Silkie and her 6 chicks would be on one side and the heat source on the other.

Thanks in advance for the advice and opinions.

 

[igorsMistress]

It really depends on the hen. Some will accept any babies and some will not. You can always give it a try, but I would supervise for a bit to make sure she doesn’t hurt them.

 

[Ridgerunner]

First time hatching eggs. We have 11 large fowl eggs in and incubator and we have 6 large fowl eggs under our broody Silkie. We have multiple coops so we plan to let our Silkie and her chicks have a 6' x 4' coop all to themselves. I am assuming I cannot stick the other 11 chicks from the incubator under the Silkie as it would be too many babies for her to handle. Would it be okay to put the 11 chicks from the incubator in the coop with the Silkie, and her 6 chicks, if I put a heat source in the coop like I would a brooder? The nesting boxes with the Silkie and her 6 chicks would be on one side and the heat source on the other.

Thanks in advance for the advice and opinions.

I assume the Silkie is a bantam. As I see it one of the problems is that the Silkie cannot cover that many chicks as they grow. I've had a full sized hen raise 18 chicks in the heat of summer, but those chicks did not all sleep under her, especially after they grew a bit. But the nights were warm enough they did not have to. A few slept on or next to her. I don't know what your temperatures are but whether you are in spring or fall it's not likely to be that warm.

Another potential problem is that the Silkie may not adopt them. Some broody hens imprint on their chicks and will keep all other chicks away from hers. She might try to kill them but more often they just try to keep them away from hers. A 6' x 4' coop isn't all that big for them to stay separated and for them all to have access to heat if they need it.
Not sure how you plan to integrate that hen and her chicks back into the main flock. They would need a heat source until the can handle the weather without the hen. I see potential logistics issues here.

As long as the chicks are within three or so days of the same age I'd try it. But pay attention to see how it goes and be ready to intervene. You never know how many will hatch anyway, good luck with that.