Aloha From Kauai!

[N F C]

It's nice to have you here with us! Best wishes for a good hatch

 

[muddy75]

 

[User690263]

Welcome to BYC! Feel free to make yourself right at home

 

[Jessgitalong]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.


I didn't think this was possible.

If you build the brooder inside the coop with hardware cloth separating it from the rest of the flock and use a mama heating pad or brooder plate for the heat source, you can begin integrating the chicks into the flock starting at 4 weeks old. You fashion chick size doors in the brooder so they can come and go but the bigs cannot get in. It takes about 2-4 weeks before the chicks stop going back to the brooder and roost with the flock. As long as you have enough space, it goes pretty smoothly.

Silky is isolated from the mean layers. I made a boo-boo and placed the favorite in isolation with her. Silky was nearly killed! I think it was over choice of nesting box. Since then, Silky won’t go into that area. I wonder if it would be okay if I closed her in there and introduced a couple hatchlings to see if she’d revert back to her old, nurturing mama behavior. I worry because she wouldn’t sit on any eggs I gave her.

 

[Nomadicus]

Silky is isolated from the mean layers. I made a boo-boo and placed the favorite in isolation with her. Silky was nearly killed! I think it was over choice of nesting box. Since then, Silky won’t go into that area. I wonder if it would be okay if I closed her in there and introduced a couple hatchlings to see if she’d revert back to her old, nurturing mama behavior.

I don't think she would unless she is the broodiest hen that ever lived.

 

[DobieLover]

Silky is isolated from the mean layers. I made a boo-boo and placed the favorite in isolation with her. Silky was nearly killed! I think it was over choice of nesting box. Since then, Silky won’t go into that area. I wonder if it would be okay if I closed her in there and introduced a couple hatchlings to see if she’d revert back to her old, nurturing mama behavior.

Lone Silkies in flocks of normally feathered birds are often attacked because they look so different from the rest of the flock. If you have other Silkies you can keep her with them or set up a coop and run for her and get some Silkies for her.
You can set up a brooder in an area with the Silky to put the hatchlings. She may express interest in them and then you can see if she would be willing to raise them for you.

 

[DobieLover]

I don't think she would unless she is the broodiest hen that ever lived.

But aren't they? I mean Silkies. That's their thing. She may kick over with hatchlings in view.

 

[Nomadicus]

But aren't they? I mean Silkies. That's their thing. She may kick over with hatchlings in view.

I tried to raise silkies to replace my incubators. All the pullets died before they could even lay except one. I have one and I do hope she will go broody.

 

[CurlyChickenGirly]

Welcome to BYC! Glad you are here! We also started with 4 RIRs a few years ago… how funny!

 

[007Sean]

Howdy, and Welcome to Backyard Chickens.

Happy to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!

Thanks for joining our community!