2009 Omlet cube and run for sale

[crankycookie]

I've just lost my best girl to cancer, and my little flock is down from four to three.

 

Now I have 1 hybrid and 2 extremely broody silkies. I am thinking of separating one or both silkies into a third of the WIR and introducing a 1-4 day old chick to one of the prospective mommies and letting her rear it. I was contemplating a standard size chick, like an easter egger or a plymouth rock.

 

Is it alright to introduce a single chick like this? (I would keep it and mom separated until it was 4-5 months, my WIR is set up so that the chooks can see each other but not get at one another.) Or should I wait until my little flock is down to just the silkies and get 2?

[sjp]

you'll need at least 2 as there is a chance that at 6 weeks old the broody will walk away from the chicks. you will also have the possiblity the the chick/s will be boys so need a plan as to what you will by with them

my number one broody walked away from here fisrt brood at 6 weeks old but stayed with the 2nd untill they were 12 weeks but I couldn't put them in with the big girls until they were about 16-18 weeks old

[Redwing]

I'd also recommend getting two or three chicks

 

Bear in mind that the mother will need to be broody before she would accept a chick - she would attack it otherwise

 

Ideally the chicks should be as young as possible, hours old is best if possible and introduce the chicks at night for a higher chance of success

 

There is a chance that she wont accept the chicks though so you'd need a back up plan and suitable home and heat source just in case which can prove expensive!

 

The breed of the chicks is unimportant so your choices would be fine and the rest of your plan re separation seems good

[tracyann]

i personally would wait until one of the silkies is broody again and let her hatch some eggs, safer than to put a young chick into a situation where it could be killed, not worth the upset.

[Egluntyne]

I have successfully put day old chicks under a relentless broody before now, using the method exactly as described here.

 

If you do go down this route, make sure that your broody is determined, ie has been broody for several days, and isn't likely to go off the idea, and when you get the chicks, place them where she can hear them cheeping for a couple of hours before you put them under her after dark. I put mine in a small cage, with a snugglesafe to keep them warm.

[crankycookie]

Ah, a snugglesafe, I was wondering how people transported their chicks when they got them home!

 

Both my girls have been broody for weeks (sigh, such are silkies) so they do seem "in the mood." I'll move one (or both? I've read some times very gentle/broody hens will share chicks) to a separate area and see if they stay broody before I order any babies. I'd prefer standard size hatched chicks as they are much easier to sex than banties and I'd like to mitigate my chances of getting a roo as much as possible. I'll also get a brooding kit in the off chance neither of the surrogate moms feels up to the challenge.

 

Thank you for your replies!

[Lewis]

I'd move just the one rather than 2, can you get the Plymouth Rock/Araucana chicks sexed at day old?

 

Just wondering what the benefit of chicks over eggs is