Broody or Not??

[sillyovrsilkies]

Okay, so I was sure I had my first broody silkie last week after tossing out about 10 eggs that I had left in the nest (they had been in there for a week) hoping for a broody girl just the week before. She began sitting on 4 eggs and even "growled" at me when I touched her on the nest! However, later that afternoon she was out playing with her friends in the yard...I thought perhaps she was just getting a bite to eat & would return to the nest, but no such luck. I left the eggs to see what would happen and now every day she'll sit for awhile and then go out and play!! She's not consistently sitting, so I know she's ruined the ggs since she's not keeping them at a constant warm temp. Any ideas why she's acting so flakey?? Do I really need to break down and purchase an incubator to have hatching eggs?? I thought silkies were good sitters...

 

[gryeyes]

Not broody. Sorry.

I don't consider a hen to be "broody" until she has spent two whole consecutive nights on the nest (in addition to the flat posture, the glazed eyes trance, and puffing up and growling when you reach for her eggs).

I've never had silkies, nor do I intend to have any, but just because a breed is considered to go broody more often than others doesn't mean an individual hen will follow the convention.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote:
I agree here, 2 nights on the nest before any girl gets eggs.

Hens going broody is a hormonal thing, you can't force them to be broody. Sure you can probably encourage a silkie (since they are such a broody breed to begin with) to go broody if she's already thinking about it, but she's not going to sit until she's ready.