Broody Silkie Hens

[Silkiechicmom]

Hi All!!

I have three silkie hens and it seems two of them have gone broody, despite removing the eggs pretty quickly after they are laid. It has been a few days and they have stopped laying eggs. They just want to sit in the empty nest box all day. I have tried to kick them out over and over but to no avail they keep returning to the box and are now sleeping in there. I notice both have plucked some breast feathers out to pad the nest. I am wondering what to do. I want to make sure this is normal behavior....I make sure they are eating and drinking a little each day when I physically remove them from the coop to free range, but not sure how much they are getting. Any advice would be welcomed, this is my first time having hens. Could is be anything else? could they be sick? They are acting pretty normal for the few moments that they are out in the yard before they run back to the nest box.

Thanks!!

 

[BlueBaby]

Silkie hen's are broody more than they lay egg's. That's way so many people like them is because they are a broody breed and can hatch egg's for them.

 

[rosemarythyme]

They're acting completely normal... for a broody. Really the best way to break them is to cage them around the clock away from the nest box with some food and water, until they no longer show broody behavior (puffing, flattening down, ticking bomb sounds, etc). On average it takes about 3 days to break a broody, though some may take longer, and some may break faster - if you let them out to check behavior and they head back to the nest box, put them in for another 24 hrs and then check again.

 

[aart]

If you don't want her to hatch out chicks, best to break her broodiness promptly.

My experience goes about like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest (or as soon as I know they are broody), I put her in a wire dog crate (24"L x 18"W x 21"H) with smaller wire on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a couple of 4x4's right in the coop or run with feed and water.

I used to let them out a couple times a day, but now just once a day in the evening(you don't have to) and she would go out into the run, drop a huge turd, race around running, take a vigorous dust bath then head back to the nest... at which point I put her back in the crate. Each time her outings would lengthen a bit, eating, drinking and scratching more and on the 3rd afternoon she stayed out of the nest and went to roost that evening...event over, back to normal tho she didn't lay for another week or two. Or take her out of crate daily very near roosting time(30-60 mins) if she goes to roost great, if she goes to nest put her back in crate.

Chunk of 2x4 for a 'roost' was added to crate floor after pic was taken.

 

[Jeddice]

Hi All!!

I have three silkie hens and it seems two of them have gone broody, despite removing the eggs pretty quickly after they are laid. It has been a few days and they have stopped laying eggs. They just want to sit in the empty nest box all day. I have tried to kick them out over and over but to no avail they keep returning to the box and are now sleeping in there. I notice both have plucked some breast feathers out to pad the nest. I am wondering what to do. I want to make sure this is normal behavior....I make sure they are eating and drinking a little each day when I physically remove them from the coop to free range, but not sure how much they are getting. Any advice would be welcomed, this is my first time having hens. Could is be anything else? could they be sick? They are acting pretty normal for the few moments that they are out in the yard before they run back to the nest box.

Thanks!!

I’m watching your post because I believe this is what my silkie is doing. I have 4 they are 7.5 mos old. She’ll sit on anyone else’s eggs, I have a variety of 16 other hens I’ve had to rehome my Roos (zoning). So no fertile eggs here