Raven, My Best Chicken Mama for Raising Hatch-a-Longs
Raven is a Silkie Bantam who has successfully raised baby chicks for me over the past five years. She’s never hatched eggs herself since I don’t keep a rooster. Instead, she raises what are called “hatch-a-longs.” This means two-day-old baby chicks are placed under her after she’s been sitting on a clutch of unfertilized eggs for at least 21 days. Many chicken keepers prefer to sneak babies under their hens at night, but I don’t. I take away Raven’s eggs during the day, place broken egg shells under her and tuck the baby chicks under her wing. Then make sure to see if she accepts them. Leaving them alone all night feels a bit risky to me, so I prefer to keep an eye on them throughout the day, though I’ll admit, I cheat and use a camera to watch them.
Once Raven has accepted her new babies as her own, I move them to an enclosure inside the coop where the rest of the flock can still see them. From that moment on, she takes over completely. She teaches them how to eat and drink, and after about two weeks, I open the door of their little safe house and let Mamma bring her babies out to meet the rest of the flock. I don’t rush it, the hen will decide to lead them out when the time is right.
Here is what my enclosure for the hen and babies looks like inside the coop, and a short video of the chicks among the flock at two weeks old.
Raven protects her babies fiercely and the other hens quickly learn to respect her and keep their distance, or risk being bullied, and that’s putting it mildly. When she has babies, Raven is unquestionably THE BOSS. She stays close to her babies for a couple months, though over time (about 4 months) the chicks naturally begin to distance themselves from her.
It’s important to know that not all Silkies, or any broody hens, for that matter, make good mothers. Just because a hen goes broody doesn’t necessarily mean she’ll dedicate herself to raising chicks. I have several Silkies, but only one, Raven, reliably raises hatch-a-longs. The others tend to go broody for a week or two and then abandon the nest altogether. Watch your girls, you will know which one is serious about staying on the nest full term, those are the hens most likely to accept babies. Since most of my Silkies are black and look nearly identical, I keep a leg band on Raven so I can easily tell which one to trust as a devoted mother.
Note: Always have a brooder box set up and ready in case your babies are rejected by the hen. If you’re wondering how to tell whether a hen accepts the chicks, simply observe her behavior. When you place the babies under her wing, she will immediately lift her wing to inspect the movement. If she consistently pushes them away or pecks at them, it’s usually a sign that she is rejecting them.
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