7 1/2 month old Silkie hen is broody. What to do?

[SMV913]

Hi all,

I have 6 hens all around 7 1/2 months old and all different breeds. 5 of them began laying within days and weeks of each other back in late April/early May except for my only Silkie hen who was the last to start laying. She began to lay the second week of June and had only been laying about 3 weeks before I noticed some broody behavior this past week and she has since stopped laying eggs. The first few days I noticed she was in the nesting box for hours- almost the entire day. I would try to get her out but she wouldn’t budge. My family and I then went on vacation for 4 days and I was unable to watch her behavior. Since coming back home though, she has still been mostly in the nesting box, coming out a few times to drink water and eat and free range in the backyard but then immediately goes back in the box. It has also been very hot here the last few days and I am worried she will become dehydrated just sitting in there without drinking much water. I always removed the eggs from underneath her and she will sometimes still lay in the box for hours on end without even having an egg under her. I continue to try and nudge her to get up and get her out. I just checked on them this evening and all of the other hens are up on their roosts and she is still there laying in the nesting box.
I was told from the beginning that silkies tend to be broody and are poor layers. Should I just leave her alone since it’s normal and let her be broody or should I be doing something to get her to stop? I was so excited when she started to lay since she was my last little hen (and she is a very small bantam Silkie) and she barely laid for 3 weeks before stopping. We have no roosters and we do not plan to have any of the hens hatch any chicks at this time so what is the best course of action for this little lady?
Thanks in advance

 

[ModernGamer]

Hi all,

I have 6 hens all around 7 1/2 months old and all different breeds. 5 of them began laying within days and weeks of each other back in late April/early May except for my only Silkie hen who was the last to start laying. She began to lay the second week of June and had only been laying about 3 weeks before I noticed some broody behavior this past week and she has since stopped laying eggs. The first few days I noticed she was in the nesting box for hours- almost the entire day. I would try to get her out but she wouldn’t budge. My family and I then went on vacation for 4 days and I was unable to watch her behavior. Since coming back home though, she has still been mostly in the nesting box, coming out a few times to drink water and eat and free range in the backyard but then immediately goes back in the box. It has also been very hot here the last few days and I am worried she will become dehydrated just sitting in there without drinking much water. I always removed the eggs from underneath her and she will sometimes still lay in the box for hours on end without even having an egg under her. I continue to try and nudge her to get up and get her out. I just checked on them this evening and all of the other hens are up on their roosts and she is still there laying in the nesting box.
I was told from the beginning that silkies tend to be broody and are poor layers. Should I just leave her alone since it’s normal and let her be broody or should I be doing something to get her to stop? I was so excited when she started to lay since she was my last little hen (and she is a very small bantam Silkie) and she barely laid for 3 weeks before stopping. We have no roosters and we do not plan to have any of the hens hatch any chicks at this time so what is the best course of action for this little lady?
Thanks in advance

One way I always “brake” my bantam Cochin hens is talking a dog crate and cutting out a piece of cardboard to fit the bottom and then just add in her feed and water and usually because she was no nesting material she won’t be able to make a nest, leave her in there for 2~3 days or until when you go and there she doesn’t get all puffy and angry. Good Luck

 

[nightowl223]

Hi all,

I have 6 hens all around 7 1/2 months old and all different breeds. 5 of them began laying within days and weeks of each other back in late April/early May except for my only Silkie hen who was the last to start laying. She began to lay the second week of June and had only been laying about 3 weeks before I noticed some broody behavior this past week and she has since stopped laying eggs. The first few days I noticed she was in the nesting box for hours- almost the entire day. I would try to get her out but she wouldn’t budge. My family and I then went on vacation for 4 days and I was unable to watch her behavior. Since coming back home though, she has still been mostly in the nesting box, coming out a few times to drink water and eat and free range in the backyard but then immediately goes back in the box. It has also been very hot here the last few days and I am worried she will become dehydrated just sitting in there without drinking much water. I always removed the eggs from underneath her and she will sometimes still lay in the box for hours on end without even having an egg under her. I continue to try and nudge her to get up and get her out. I just checked on them this evening and all of the other hens are up on their roosts and she is still there laying in the nesting box.
I was told from the beginning that silkies tend to be broody and are poor layers. Should I just leave her alone since it’s normal and let her be broody or should I be doing something to get her to stop? I was so excited when she started to lay since she was my last little hen (and she is a very small bantam Silkie) and she barely laid for 3 weeks before stopping. We have no roosters and we do not plan to have any of the hens hatch any chicks at this time so what is the best course of action for this little lady?
Thanks in advance

Okay, if you have no desire to have her be broody, you've chosen a bad breed. I just have to say that right up front. Silkies are almost always broody. That's what they're most well known for because it's quite true. If she were mine, I'd get some fertilized eggs, of a breed I wanted, and let her have at them.

If you don't want her to be broody, there are a few things you can do to break it. You can put reused pop bottles in the freezer, filled about 3/4 of the way, and once they're frozen, put them under her, in the nest box. Or, you can put her in what's called a broody jail, which is a wire cage above the floor, where air can get under her, and help cool her body temperature down some. The temperature is what makes the hen want to be broody. Their body temperature goes up, and stays a bit higher than normal, for the entire time they would be incubating eggs. Airflow underneath the wire cage can help bring the temperature down to normal, as do the frozen bottles of water.

 

[SMV913]

Okay, if you have no desire to have her be broody, you've chosen a bad breed. I just have to say that right up front. Silkies are almost always broody. That's what they're most well known for because it's quite true. If she were mine, I'd get some fertilized eggs, of a breed I wanted, and let her have at them.

If you don't want her to be broody, there are a few things you can do to break it. You can put reused pop bottles in the freezer, filled about 3/4 of the way, and once they're frozen, put them under her, in the nest box. Or, you can put her in what's called a broody jail, which is a wire cage above the floor, where air can get under her, and help cool her body temperature down some. The temperature is what makes the hen want to be broody. Their body temperature goes up, and stays a bit higher than normal, for the entire time they would be incubating eggs. Airflow underneath the wire cage can help bring the temperature down to normal, as do the frozen bottles of water.

Thank you for response! I did know beforehand that silkies are known for being a broody breed. This is our first experience with raising chickens and we wanted a variety within our flock to keep it fun and interesting. I have two children who just turned 5 & 8 and the main reason we decided to get a Silkie is because of their usually sweet demeanor (perfect for children) and also how different they look with their type of feathers.
I’m ok with her being broody and not laying if that’s what she wants to do, I just always heard of people saying to get them to stop being broody especially if you aren’t planning on having them hatch any eggs. I just don’t know if it’s something that will have any effects on her long term and if I should try and stop it before too much time has passed. Also, since I have no clue- if I were to just leave her alone and let her be, how long will this broodiness stage go on for? Will she ever go back to laying? Will she continue to just lay in the nesting box forever essentially?

 

[SMV913]

One way I always “brake” my bantam Cochin hens is talking a dog crate and cutting out a piece of cardboard to fit the bottom and then just add in her feed and water and usually because she was no nesting material she won’t be able to make a nest, leave her in there for 2~3 days or until when you go and there she doesn’t get all puffy and angry. Good Luck

Thanks for the tip! Should I just leave her and let her do what she wants? I’m not that bothered that she has gone broody I just have always heard to break the habit if you aren’t planning on having them hatch chicks.
I did enjoy fetching her little eggs even though it only lasted a few weeks lol so I’m just torn on what I should do. Did your bantam Cochin begin to lay again once it went broody and you broke it?

 

[LilJoe]

She will probably stay broody for 2-3 weeks.. maybe even a week or two longer. When she is done being broody or done raising her chicks she will eventually start laying again.

 

[nightowl223]

Thanks for the tip! Should I just leave her and let her do what she wants? I’m not that bothered that she has gone broody I just have always heard to break the habit if you aren’t planning on having them hatch chicks.
I did enjoy fetching her little eggs even though it only lasted a few weeks lol so I’m just torn on what I should do. Did your bantam Cochin begin to lay again once it went broody and you broke it?

I have banty Cochins, and they will go broody if there are more than 1 or 2 eggs in the nest box. Spring, Summer, Fall, even Winter, it doesn't matter... if the eggs aren't gathered on time, she will go broody on them.

The most important thing to do is to make sure they're not losing weight. That's the only real danger, but it is a definite one. I had one hen that starved herself to death, back before I knew to keep such a close watch on them. I luckily had an incubator, so I saved the eggs, but I was devastated over the loss.

 

[SMV913]

She will probably stay broody for 2-3 weeks.. maybe even a week or two longer. When she is done being broody or done raising her chicks she will eventually start laying again.

I have been trying to retrieve the eggs soon after they are laid by the other hens but the Silkie will still lay in one of the boxes even without having an egg under her. So if I were to leave her be she would eventually realize she’s not hatching any eggs?

 

[SMV913]

I have banty Cochins, and they will go broody if there are more than 1 or 2 eggs in the nest box. Spring, Summer, Fall, even Winter, it doesn't matter... if the eggs aren't gathered on time, she will go broody on them.

The most important thing to do is to make sure they're not losing weight. That's the only real danger, but it is a definite one. I had one hen that starved herself to death, back before I knew to keep such a close watch on them. I luckily had an incubator, so I saved the eggs, but I was devastated over the loss.

So if I somehow break her from this habit now, there’s a strong possibility she will go broody again at a later time? This might be more of a nightmare then I thought!
What I might just do is once all the others have laid for the day, I will close the door to the coop area so she doesn’t have access to the nesting boxes and she is forced to stay at the bottom with the others where the food and water is.
I’m so sorry to hear you lost one I’ve had some close calls with a couple of my hens and I know I would of been devasted if the outcome was different. They do become a big part of your family!

 

[nightowl223]

So if I somehow break her from this habit now, there’s a strong possibility she will go broody again at a later time? This might be more of a nightmare then I thought!
What I might just do is once all the others have laid for the day, I will close the door to the coop area so she doesn’t have access to the nesting boxes and she is forced to stay at the bottom with the others where the food and water is.
I’m so sorry to hear you lost one I’ve had some close calls with a couple of my hens and I know I would of been devasted if the outcome was different. They do become a big part of your family!

Oh, yes, she'll regularly go broody. That's just what Silkies do. Banty Cochins do it almost as badly, LOL! Generally, if they hatch a batch of babies, you're good for a month or so afterwards, maybe longer... Usually, my BC hens don't go broody in the winter time, but I have had one do it her first year, and she was terribly determined. She even had a batch of eggs hidden away! Then, in the middle of winter, out comes a line of babies behind her when she came out to eat...

So, yes, this will be an all the time thing. I'm sorry. Many people think it's worth it just to have the pretty things around the yard. You'll have to decide whether that's enough of a cost to you to have the pretty hen around.