Raising baby silkie

[silkiesoft]

Hi guys!
recently I’ve hatched and raised baby turkeys no problem, all grown up to be healthy turkeys. So I have a little bit of understanding of how to do these. But they are very different breeds.
my sister has decided to incubate guinea fowl, and in her excitement she accidentally put one silkie egg in the incubator. So now I’m tasked with looking after one single silkie baby.
I need help with raising it, I’m not sure how to feed it or get it to drink water? And I have silkie hens, but none of them are broody? Does that matter, can I still try the baby with her? what food would be best for the little one? Thank you I’m advance

 

[Lizzy733]

No broody silkies is an enigma... but giving them a chick is a bit more nuanced than just waiting for them to brood, though silkies are over motherly. What this chick needs is friends, chick crumble and fresh water. You may need to dip its beak in the water to show it where to drink and you may need to call it over to the food, but it can find this on its own.
Newborn chicks are still running off their yolk, so they may be more interested in resting than eating at first.
Chick crumble is good as aside from being balanced as a chick feed as they can digest this without the need for grit. With silkies in particular, they may benefit from a vitamin boost early on - for me, that was a small amount of apple cider vinegar in the water, but there are plenty of other things that can be used and it's not a necessity unless you run into problems, just a good to have. Medicated feed or drops to treat cocci is another precautionary option - if she is not around adult birds and being housed indoors in a clean environment, there is less of a concern of a outbreak, but most people do prefer to medicate as it can kill so quickly.
The little one will need companions though... at least two more friends to fulfill her social need and to make future flock integration easier.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Chicks can manage for themselves for the most part. For feed you want some sort of chick starter or alternatively, an all flock feed, in a small crumble. For water, a shallow small dish is fine - dip the beak in the water just so it knows where the water is.

It needs a source of heat roughly 90-95 degrees the first week and declining 5 degrees or so from there.

I don't suppose you could find another chick at this time? It's going to really want a friend, otherwise it'll get lonely. If you cannot get another chick or two, a mirror might be a substitute until it's big enough to put with your adults.

I doubt any of you non broody hens will accept the baby, and they may kill it if you force the issue, though if you want to try and are able to keep close supervision on the process it might be worth giving it a shot in case you happen to have a hen that just feels motherly.

 

[silkiesoft]

No broody silkies is an enigma... but giving them a chick is a bit more nuanced than just waiting for them to brood, though silkies are over motherly. What this chick needs is friends, chick crumble and fresh water. You may need to dip its beak in the water to show it where to drink and you may need to call it over to the food, but it can find this on its own.
Newborn chicks are still running off their yolk, so they may be more interested in resting than eating at first.
Chick crumble is good as aside from being balanced as a chick feed as they can digest this without the need for grit. With silkies in particular, they may benefit from a vitamin boost early on - for me, that was a small amount of apple cider vinegar in the water, but there are plenty of other things that can be used and it's not a necessity unless you run into problems, just a good to have. Medicated feed or drops to treat cocci is another precautionary option - if she is not around adult birds and being housed indoors in a clean environment, there is less of a concern of a outbreak, but most people do prefer to medicate as it can kill so quickly.
The little one will need companions though... at least two more friends to fulfill her social need and to make future flock integration easier.

Chicks can manage for themselves for the most part. For feed you want some sort of chick starter or alternatively, an all flock feed, in a small crumble. For water, a shallow small dish is fine - dip the beak in the water just so it knows where the water is.

It needs a source of heat roughly 90-95 degrees the first week and declining 5 degrees or so from there.

I don't suppose you could find another chick at this time? It's going to really want a friend, otherwise it'll get lonely. If you cannot get another chick or two, a mirror might be a substitute until it's big enough to put with your adults.

I doubt any of you non broody hens will accept the baby, and they may kill it if you force the issue, though if you want to try and are able to keep close supervision on the process it might be worth giving it a shot in case you happen to have a hen that just feels motherly.

ive tried one of my hens in with it, but she doesn’t seem to want anything to do with it. But I’m not sure if the process either.
I have no other chicks, cause she was an accidental incubate. The guinea fowl are around 6 days off from hatching, but I don’t want it to be alone for that long. I will try and find a mirror. Thank you so much for your help

 

[silkiesoft]

So one of my silkie hens has taken the baby, it’s currently sitting under her. What do I need to do to ensure the health of both of the chickens?
thank you

 

[rosemarythyme]

So one of my silkie hens has taken the baby, it’s currently sitting under her. What do I need to do to ensure the health of both of the chickens?
thank you

Keep an eye on them to make sure she actually takes to the chick (instead of tolerating it for a few minutes and then abandoning it). Otherwise as long as the chick can reach the food and water sources you have available, it should be good. Not sure what type of feeder or waterer you use but they need to be chick friendly and at a height that it can reach.

Also what are your hens eating? If they're on layer, you should get all flock or chick crumble and have all birds on that until the chick is old enough to lay as well, as the excess calcium in layer is not good for the chick. Oyster shell on the side for the hens will take care of that.

 

[Lizzy733]

So one of my silkie hens has taken the baby, it’s currently sitting under her. What do I need to do to ensure the health of both of the chickens?
thank you

Excellent news! She's clucking and being motherly then? If the rest of the flock is not acting aggressive to the chick, you don't need to worry about separating them, but everyone should be shifted to a chick crumble for 6-8 weeks, then grower until she's at least 20 weeks or so. The higher calcium content in layer pellets is not good for a growing chick. Add an additional feed and water station away from the current ones to give them a bit of room to work around each other and make sure to offer oyster shell grit or crushed egg shell for your layers on the side.