Our broody hens and hatches

[Yardmom]

Always thought birds imprinted on the one that hatched them. Ducks hatching in the Silkie coop makes me wonder if that is only partly true. After the first night there were still 3 ducklings. They would follow what ever chicken they could. They especially liked roosters. Mom who hatched them didn't follow, but the standard hen whose ducklings had vanished really wanted them and would follow them and was even able to pull them under her. The attempts to follow roosters may have gotten one stepped on to hard. We figured the reason they didn't know who Mom was, was because of the multiple moms. (At 3 weeks the duckling does follow the standard hen that raised it)

This morning makes me rethink this. When I went to the Silkie barn this morning (husband let them out earlier). A newly hatched yellow duckling was doing a pretty good job of following the 3 week old duckling everywhere.