Broody Silkie, and We Don't Want Chicks...

[Shahnaz13]

I wouldn't give her eggs at all - it doesn't work with our chickens. They sit and sit and sit some more (one even WITHOUT any eggs . In my experience it works best to remove ALL eggs at the start of broodiness and hope for the best .

 

[Raylegbar]

My seven month old silkie hen is being broody because she wants to be a momma and it breaks my heart that we cant have one. We're about to start breaking the cycle, but I just have some questions before we do so. Our cage is about two feet (2) by four or five (4-5) feet and three-ish feet tall. Is this too big? We do have food and water in there, but no bedding or hay or anything right? Should it be near the other chickens or even inside the chicken run, or farther away. Should we cover it with a blanket? It is outside and if it was in the chicken run, the run has chicken wire walls and she would not have the other hens to cuddle with. This is the first time we've had to do this, so I just want to make sure I'm doing it right. Thanks y'all for the help1

put the brody. Hen in its own pen, give it a wooden egg or two to hatch, let nature take its course. Over time and with failure of the egg to hatch, the hen will become disinterested. Works.

 

[TxMesteth]

My seven month old silkie hen is being broody because she wants to be a momma and it breaks my heart that we cant have one. We're about to start breaking the cycle, but I just have some questions before we do so. Our cage is about two feet (2) by four or five (4-5) feet and three-ish feet tall. Is this too big? We do have food and water in there, but no bedding or hay or anything right? Should it be near the other chickens or even inside the chicken run, or farther away. Should we cover it with a blanket? It is outside and if it was in the chicken run, the run has chicken wire walls and she would not have the other hens to cuddle with. This is the first time we've had to do this, so I just want to make sure I'm doing it right. Thanks y'all for the help1

All you have to do to break a broody hen cycle is put a small freezer bag of ice under her in the box. No need to remove them from the coop or from the other birds. Just replace the ice as needed, but mine have never stayed long enough on it to have to replace the ice. Just watch and make sure they don’t move to another nesting box. If they do, just move the bag of ice back under them. Breaks my broody hens every time in a day.

 

[Dian0509]

OP is trying to BREAK the broody. This will not help - giving her an egg or anything egg-like would only encourage her to set. She needs to kept away from the nest or anything that could serve as a nesting area.



For broody jail: Put her in an isolation cage with some food and water, in sight of the others (in the coop if it's not too hot or in/near the run is ideal). A wire cage elevated to air flow under her would be the best option, however I've used everything from a brooder to a dog exercise pen.

Keep her in the cage around the clock for about 2 days. At that time, if she's shows fewer signs of broodiness (puffing up, flattening down and growling, tik tik tik noise) you can let her out to test her. If she runs back to the nest at any point (usually they don't do it immediately, but maybe after 15 minutes, maybe an hour) then she's not yet sufficiently broken and needs to go back to the cage for another 24 hours. Then let her out and test her again. Repeat until she's no longer going to the nest box.

IF the isolation cage is not safe for overnight stay (i.e. sits outside the run) then put her on the roost at night, and retrieve her from the nest box the next morning and put her back in the cage. It may take a little longer this way but better than letting a predator get to her.

Okay, so draling with a broody myself right now. When do you know she is actually over it amd when she goes to the nest she actually going to lay an egg and not sit? Some of my hens (7 months old) will take up to an hour in the box to lay. I don't want to discourage her from laying but also don't want to leave her in the box long if she is just sitting.

 

[aart]

When do you know she is actually over it amd when she goes to the nest she actually going to lay an egg and not sit?

After they are broken they probably won't lay for a good week or so.

 

[Ridgerunner]

When do you know she is actually over it amd when she goes to the nest she actually going to lay an egg and not sit?

Like Aart said, they are not going to go back to laying immediately. Somebody can always come up with an exception, but a broody hen should not be laying eggs, not if they are a committed broody. They make some changes to their internal plumbing (some parts kind of dry up) so it takes time to reverse those changes. They stop growing ova to yolk size. Their comb may go pale so the rooster isn't as interested in mating. Before a hen even starts laying eggs she packs on extra fat. That fat is what she mostly lives on while incubating on the nest so she can take care of the eggs instead of being off looking for food. She needs to replace any fat used while broody before she starts laying again.

If a hen goes to the nest within an hour of letting her out of the broody buster put her back in. And see where she sleeps at night. It's not that hard to tell if she is still broody. I think you will recognize it pretty quickly.

 

[Ashley & Donna Dame]

My seven month old silkie hen is being broody because she wants to be a momma and it breaks my heart that we cant have one. We're about to start breaking the cycle, but I just have some questions before we do so. Our cage is about two feet (2) by four or five (4-5) feet and three-ish feet tall. Is this too big? We do have food and water in there, but no bedding or hay or anything right? Should it be near the other chickens or even inside the chicken run, or farther away. Should we cover it with a blanket? It is outside and if it was in the chicken run, the run has chicken wire walls and she would not have the other hens to cuddle with. This is the first time we've had to do this, so I just want to make sure I'm doing it right. Thanks y'all for the help1

Welcome to the world of silkies. They are broody little buggers. We have 11 silkie hens. A couple are a bit older and don't get broody anymore. The others...forget about it. I've tried everything. I tried the cage thing. It worked for a few days, maybe a week and they started all over. I tried the dipping into cool water ( it was summer) still didn't work. When I have one go broody, 2 to 4 more join in. They will get into the nest with others and crowd each other. I finally gave up....I put in more nesting boxes so the others have a place to lay. I take the eggs every day so no viability occurs. After 21 days they stop and all goes back to normal. I love my silkies however don't count on them being great egg layers for many years. After the first couple years it drops off significantly. I'm sorry I have no advise to offer to stop it. They are just little wannabe momma's. It's in their nature.

 

[Yvette In California]

This is so ironic. My silkie, Poppy, whom is nearing 8 months old, was acting broody yesterday. This is helpful info on the thread. Yesterday, I took her out of the nest box, had a good long talk, and told her I'd get her some cucumbers. She absolutely loves her cucumbers. I figured as long as I could get some food and water in her, that would be important. Sure enough, she was excited about the cucumber, and ate well, but we'll see what today brings. She's a really good layer, all things considered. Be well, everyone.