I have a broody... [updated 08/19]

[MamaSheepdog]

MC,

here is the response I got from my friend who is as crazy about her Silkies as I am about my rabbits, so I would take her advice;

The chicks should be on a surface with very good grip. The one the has it's legs out in front is a bad sign. These chicks are difficult to help. If it's "splade leg", (legs are out to the side) the legs can be pulled together into the correct position with a 1/4" strip of medical paper tape or bandaid tape. This usually takes care of the problem in about 3 days but they must have a good grip surface like 1/4' hardware cloth, rubberized shelf paper, or an old towel. Hope this helps.

 

[Gone]

Thanks! And I agree, it's the same conclusion I came to last night when googling it. I found a couple of relevant links that have good pictures of how to set up the leg braces:

http://thebreed.yuku.com/topic/367
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/0 ... is-it.html

Gonna try it now. As far as traction goes, they're on hardware cloth with a little hay, so I think that should be good.

The others are doing well. They're eating and drinking, playing under the lavender's watchful eye. Not that there's anything for them to worry about, the cage they're in is like fort knox.

_____________________________________________
EDIT:

This morning, they're all up and about, running around, eating and drinking. They seem just fine, so I'll chalk it up to initial weakness after hatching, and not mess with it. A couple more pics:

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Excellent news!

What a beautiful hen you have there.

 

[Miss M]

That's great, that they straightened out on their own!

 

[Rachel.And.Yue]

Congrats on the chicks

I have 3 silkie hens that decided to start brooding one after another so currently there are the 3 hens on one gigantic nest...and my other silkie hens are laying their eggs in there and walking off...gonna have multiple ages coming out of there

this is also my first time letting my chickens hatch their own eggs..usually I use incubators. I have only let our ducks and geese hatch their own

 

[Gone]

Thanks! And yeah, I'm very relieved that they didn't need any intervention.

Rachel, it could get complicated if you have a very staggered hatch. If you're OK with whatever result you get though, you should be OK. You might consider doing what I did once you have some chicks, and that's to isolate them with one hen in a cage or pen, and let the others go on brooding. That way you have options, you can let a second hen take later chicks, or you can integrate them with the first set.

My guys got their first taste of hard boiled egg a lil while ago. The hen was very excited, too, and I figure she could use a boost since she's been basically immobile for quite awhile. It's all going really well at this point, just hoping some more hatch.

 

[Rachel.And.Yue]

Thanks! And yeah, I'm very relieved that they didn't need any intervention.

Rachel, it could get complicated if you have a very staggered hatch. If you're OK with whatever result you get though, you should be OK. You might consider doing what I did once you have some chicks, and that's to isolate them with one hen in a cage or pen, and let the others go on brooding. That way you have options, you can let a second hen take later chicks, or you can integrate them with the first set.

My guys got their first taste of hard boiled egg a lil while ago. The hen was very excited, too, and I figure she could use a boost since she's been basically immobile for quite awhile. It's all going really well at this point, just hoping some more hatch.

That is what I was going to do, so thank you! I am also willing to take them from the moms (just the first group to hatch) so that the hens will keep brooding...works with all our other birds anyways..and that way all the eggs get a chance...

either way if I take one hen with the chicks then there will still be 2 more on the nest

 

[Marinea]

Congrats on the chickies!

The first few days after hatching, I have mine on paper towels. It seems to be enough for them to grip. After then, I switch them to shavings (when I raise inside). Be sure to watch for pasty butt. Oh, and I don't take mine away from mom until they are completely dry. That seems to help.

 

[Gone]

Thanks! Mine are on hardware cloth now, with some grass hay and shavings to soften it. They're all scooting around like crazy, no trouble walking at all. I'm very relieved.

I got one more this morning, another white or possibly lavender one. It's from the second set of eggs, so no clue if there will be more. It's hard to tell exactly how those two will look, the colour is right for white, but they have a bit of faint barring like the lav, so I dunno.

Had to clean 3 butts today, but none were very bad. Momma was very relieved when I brought them back.

 

[Iggysbabysitter]

I came VERY CLOSE to asking to foster the one I held today, MidnightCoder... very very close. You have a nice variety of colours

 

[Gone]

Thanks! It was a sweet one eh? Just hours out of the shell

__________ Thu Jun 06, 2013 2:15 pm __________

Well, it looks like I got 8 total. No new ones yesterday or today. The other hens are still on the eggs, but I'm pretty sure they're too old now. I'll give it another day or two, then start trying to snap them out of it.

New pics of the brood:

If you click to enlarge and look carefully at her wing in the last shot, you can see one of the dark ones peeking out. She has them all under her in that shot. <br /><br />__________ Mon Aug 19, 2013 3:51 pm __________<br /><br />It's been awhile since I posted to this thread. Yesterday my second clutch hatched out, 10 new chicks so far out of a possible 12. The next batch are due in 3-4 days. I may have a lot more than I bargained for at this rate. :lol:

These two pics are of the same ones as pictured above, as chicks. They're about 10 weeks old now.

And here are a couple from the new brood. The little one in the closeup was having trouble yesterday, flipping over like a turtle and having a hard time righting itself. Today, doing much better, just a bit wobbly. It should have interesting colour, it's more red than the others with the partridge pattern.

One interesting bit about this brood - no white ones, despite two white hens. It's an even split right now between black/near black and partridge patterned ones. Not that I mind, I didn't want too many white anyway.

More to come, as I take them. :roll:

 

[Nyctra]

CHEEPCHEEPS!
I hope my silkie stays a 'hen' and broods. I wonder how silkie x RIR would turn out... :?