How many................

[Suechooks]

..........large fowl eggs could a Silkie brood?

[RichmondHens]

Bantie silkie or LF silkie? Can't remember which yours are.

My banties (LS and LS crosses) will cover 4 of my large eggs (have one currently on 4) but can brood more chicks than this so have 3 in the machine timed to hatch same day to add to her brood. I have another bantie sitting on 6 cream legbar eggs as these are smaller.

I think bantie silkies would cover no more than 4, but a LF silkie, which are really somewhere in the middle between bantam and "proper" LF size would cover at least 6, possibly 8 LF eggs.

[Bramble-Poultry]

4 -5 Sue depending on the breed of LF

[petal]

yes, 4-5 limit! One of my silkies sneaked off in the winter and hatched 12 silkie eggs......so that would be about right!

[cotton54321]

sorry to gatecrash thread but do you think this would be the same for a light sussex bantam??

Mel

[Suechooks]

Well there you go! I thought a Silkie was just a silkie! These only lay little eggs and are about the size of my Speckled Sussex bantam. However the 2 chicks are actually looking bigger than the 3 adults! Anyway I'll just have to get the incubator out again! Dear oh dear oh dear!!!! Unless all 3 go broody together or one of the Orps or the Wyandotte!

[chris]

Are silkies small birds or something? 12 of their eggs cover roughly 4-5 LF eggs? Are they smaller than bantam versions of Lf then? As I'm sure from pictures I've seen, 12 bantam eggs are more in area than 4-5 eggs?

[Hilary B]

The usual silkie is about the smallest of large fowl types. No idea just how small the banty would be, but must be pretty small!

[Scarlet]

sorry to gatecrash thread but do you think this would be the same for a light sussex bantam??

Mel

I have a silver sussex bantam and she will do 4LF

[Nicos]

My banties coped with 2 Marans eggs under each armpit

[cotton54321]

Thanks guys...I may need to incubate then...want to hatch cream legbars but know there's a high boy to girl ratio so want to give myself best chance I can