Silkie Hen getting broody
About a month ago, my little white Silkie Bantam hen decided it was time to start laying her first eggs. She was born here on the farm last summer. I left her eggs alone and finally, when she had a nest full, she started sitting on them. She is my natural incubator and that is why I bought Silkie bantam chickens to begin with. I removed her eggs and replaced them with my bigger laying chicken's eggs. Today there are 2 little chicks sitting calmly under her wings in the nest box with 2 more large eggs left to hatch and 1 of her own that she laid about a week after she starting sitting on them.
One chick is black (likely from the Barred Plymouth Rock mom) and the other is golden with brown striping on its back (likely from the Rhode Island Red cross). The father is Aladin, an Americauna chicken.
The story of this little hen is very interesting. She is in a small chicken house with her father, a white Silkie Bantam rooster. She was 1 of 4 Silkie Bantam chicks hatched out last September by her mother. 3 of the little chicks died within 48 hours and only this little hen chick was left. Her mother was ill looking for several weeks and finally died as well. So all I had left was the Silkie Rooster and this little chick who was well taken care of during the day by her father, but at night would peep very loudly because she was cold and her father would jump up to roost on his perch and the little chick couldn't get there. Silkie Roosters are also very well known for being good dads and this fellow is certainly that. I've seen it when he has cared for 2 other broods (chick litters). I had a few options for this little chick: I could take it inside and put it under a heat lamp (but because she was alone, it was not ideal and it would be labour intensive for me), or I could leave her in the chicken house and hope for the best. I decided to leave her, the cooler temperatures would make her feather out quickly, if she survived. I would put her up on the perch next to her dad and she would cuddle under his wings or between his feet and be warm, but she invariably would lose her balance and fall off and start to peep loudly. A mother hen will stay on the bottom and keep her chicks warm, so I kept trying to think about what I could put on the bottom to keep this one warm. I have sheep, and fleece, so I grabbed a handful of washed fleece (I think it was Tommy's wool) and made a fluffy pile and laid it in the bottom. This chick didn't know what to do, so I shoved her under the pile. Eventually, she settled, sometimes sticking her head out of the pile of wool, but mostly staying under it. She survived the first night and every night for over a month, my evening ritual was to shove this little chick under the pile of sheep's wool until she was big enough to roost on the perch next to her dad. She survived the winter and eventually I discovered to my absolute joy that she was a hen and hopefully, she would carry on her mother's broody instincts and be my natural incubator. When her chicks are done and ready to leave her, I will put my black Silkie Rooster with her and then maybe she can raise her own chicks. But for now, my white Silkie rooster will again help raise a batch of chicks.
BTW, Silkie Bantam chickens are small size chickens (ie: bantam) that are lacking the barbicels/hooks on the ends of the feather fibres, which gives them a fluffy, sheepy look to them. The hens have a strong broody instinct (meaning they want to sit and hatch out their eggs) with the roosters making good fathers. I got these chickens for their broody instincts and because I thought I could spin their feathers into some novelty feather yarns. I collect the feathers when they naturally discard them. For more information on Silkie Bantams go to http://www.americansilkiebantamclub.org/about_silkies.htm
