Broody hen, no eggs?

[Shared Acres]

My little Oprah (silkie) has been in the nest box for the last 3 days, she comes out once a day. She is acting broody, but she has no eggs.

There are 3 golf balls in the box, but she is avoiding those. She'll sit next to them. If I shove them under her she'll sit on them.

I took her inside today and gave her a nice warm bath and a blow dry and then brought her into the room where the incubator was.

I had an egg hatch in the incubator and the baby was trying to get out. Oprah made a sound and the baby started crying for her. But she just stared at him. She seemed interested in it. But I tried putting the egg near her and she backed off.

She only started laying eggs a month ago.

Could she be broody but have no real momma insticts? Or maybe she doesn't like the look of the golf balls? LOL. We don't have a rooster, so we don't have any fertile eggs at the moment.

Should I try to give her the new hatchling?

 

[swtangel321]

How old is she ????? If she hasnt been sitting then chances are she wont mother them, A hen should sit for at least 2 weeks before you give them chicks. If you want to try I would make sure you do it in the house where you can see her, maybe in a box with a heat lamp (not to hot) just in case she doesnt take them, also would keep a real close eye on her !!

 

[cmom]

Silkies do tend to be broody.

 

[Shared Acres]

She's at about 5 months old. I bought her about 2 months ago from a lady.

I was thinking the same thing--bring her inside to watch her closely. I was thinking of putting a baby under her while she slept.

 

[Shared Acres]

UPDATE: I took her a day old baby out today. I put it under her for awhile and everything was fine. Then I pulled it out and showed it to her, she didn't peck it or anything. So I put the baby back under and they stayed like that for several hours.

HOWEVER, she never left the box. Baby got out from under her crying and she wouldn't lift to let the baby back under. So baby crawled on top of her for a bit. Then baby came down and pecked at Oprah's beak and cried.

I ended up bringing the baby inside for the night to get food and water and to stay warm.

Do you think if I keep bringing the baby out for a couple of hours every day she'll get over her broodiness and take this baby as her own?

 

[swtangel321]

I dont think so.... I really dont think she was broody long enough !!!!! This happend to me last week.... I had a broody that had sat for 21 days and another that was about a 1 1/2 weeks in to it.... I ended up buying 4 chicks gave 2 to each, put each hen in a nest box (next to each other) and blocked them off. the one that was 1 1/2 weeks into it left the nest and jumped over the wood I had blocking them !!!! The babies found the other mama hen who took them under her.

 

[cmom]

I agree with "swtangel321". I think she still may be too young. Has she started laying yet?

 

[Attack Chicken]

Silkies are usually very good mothers

 

[swtangel321]

Quote:
Yes they are !!!!! but, in this case she is a young hen and hasnt been broody all that long !!!!!!!

 

[silkiechicken]

I agree, she hasn't been broody long enough for her mother clock to say it is time for her to switch from egg to mother mode.

However, I have had a silkie be a great setter and a terrible mother. She sat and sat and sat, the chicks hatched and she sat so tight she smothered and killed all her chicks that hatched and then kept on sitting.