My silkie hen is sitting on her eggs?

Question

I have two silkies a hen and a rooster we are working on getting another hen and finding a new home for the rooster but we dont have an incubator so we decided to leave the eggs in there to see what she would do she has about 8 eggs i think but she wont move off of them while we are near her does this mean that they are fertilized? does she know? or is she just sitting on them because theres a chance that they might be fertile? She only started sitting on them on tuesday any advice? oh and she wont let the rooster in the hutch during the day although its suitable for 5 regular sized chickens and they are bantoms he gets inside at night but he wont even go up the ramp during the day

Answer 1

If there is a rooster around,then they definitely are fertilized eggs.Lucky you,i love little chicks.

Answer 2

She won't know if they are or aren't fertile.  If you took the eggs away and gave her golf balls she'd sit on them, too.  Also just having a rooster doesn't always mean fertile eggs, sometimes the roos are sterile, or the hen is, or he isn't very good at the mating game, but in most cases the guys are pretty good at it.

If she has been brooding since Tuesday, if the eggs are fertile and she is good about sitting then you can expect to have chicks on or about July 1, give or take a couple days.  

Bantams are normally pretty good at setting, and many are great mothers.  Others just want to sit on eggs.  Keeping the rooster out is pretty normal, too, because he is probably interested in s******g while she wants to be a mommy and isn't interested.  Make sure that the coop doesn't get too hot, because this can stress mom and make the eggs die, too.  If it's really hot open the door/window and you might want to set up a small fan up where they can't hit it and vent out the hot air.

When the eggs are about to hatch, I'd start checking on June 28 or 29, they will "pip" or start peeping and a little hole will appear.  It can take a while for an chick to get out, and we only help if the chick is clearly exhausted and can't get out.  Once they are hatched you'll want to give them plenty of chick feed and provide water in very shallow pans or a waterer so they don't drown themselves.

New peeps are always adorable, good luck with Momma!

You might want to check out these sites, too

Answer 3

The silkie is being a good momma. Let her do what she's doing. She won't know fertile from non-fertile, but she knows eggs and how to take care of them. Don't worry about the rooster, he'll be fine as long as he can get in to sleep.