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

[LilJoe]

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?

Nope, even without eggs she'll sit there for weeks.

 

[SMV913]

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.

That is too funny that she had a hidden stash of babies that popped out unbeknownst to you I actually think it’s pretty cute and endearing that she wants to be a Mama Hen Although I’d be a bit sad, I’d still be ok if she never laid again and just had her around. I would never get rid of her just because she stopped laying. Now if they ALL went broody and stopped laying, that would be a different story . I’ll just have to see how she is in the next few days and start preparing to try and break her and just know that I’ll probably have to do this a million more times with her in the future!

 

[SMV913]

Nope, even without eggs she'll sit there for weeks.

Wow well that’s good to know! I figured if she didn’t have anything under her after a while she would just stop but guess I thought wrong! Thanks for the input!

 

[ModernGamer]

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?

Yeah Willow began laying her tiny eggs about a week after she was taken out of our “Broody Breaker”