Introducing hand reared chicks into an adult flock

[sampoulton]

Hi
I am a teacher and in our school we have two silkie adult girls, around 4 years old. Although one becomes broody, she is unreliable. So, we are buying an incubator and brooder and hand rearing some eggs as part of the life cycles theme being studied school wide. I have incubated eggs and raised them to adulthood before but have never had adult birds to introduce the youngster to.
What age should I begin to introduce, what steps should I take etc?
All advice gratefully received.
Sam

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi Sam,

If your intent is to hatch them out in an incubator and try give them to a broody hen, that's worked for me once, and not worked for me once. So that's worth a try.

As for integrating them to live together, that's not going to happen for a few months. Silkies are sweet, but they'll beat up on any young ones in their domain.

I usually integrate mine completely safe when they're 5 months old. At four months old we've done it, and the younger ones took some grief and were kept in a corner on the floor and kept from food and water, so daily when I'd open the coop, they rushed out and to me where I had a feeder and waterer just for them.

 

[BDutch]

Hi
I am a teacher and in our school we have two silkie adult girls, around 4 years old. Although one becomes broody, she is unreliable. So, we are buying an incubator and brooder and hand rearing some eggs as part of the life cycles theme being studied school wide. I have incubated eggs and raised them to adulthood before but have never had adult birds to introduce the youngster to.
What age should I begin to introduce, what steps should I take etc?
All advice gratefully received.
Sam

There are a few articles on BYC about introducing chicks into an adult flock at a young age. Its called the ‘see don’t touch’ method.
I think @aart and @rosemarythyme know all about it.