Broody silkie, what to do?

[Erin80]

My black silkie, Spooky, has gone broody. She is 7 months old. It’s so cold here and I don’t like that she’s insisting on sitting in the nesting box alone all day and night. I had to add another nest box today because other hens were crowding in with her to lay. She sits there regardless of whether there are eggs or not. How do I get her to move on and stop sitting on the nest?

 

[Chicken-lovebirdchihuahua]

Try picking her up every morning or when ever you can and take her out of the box that may work or you can try taking away the hay for a little bit and she might leave

 

[ChickNanny13]

I've tried removing broodies from the nest, they are stubborn! The best is Broody Jail, a wire cage (nothing on the floor, air must circulate under them) suspended off the ground in the coop (no reintroduction) with food & water, for a few days or sometimes longer.

 

[bobbi-j]

I've tried removing broodies from the nest, they are stubborn! The best is Broody Jail, a wire cage (nothing on the floor, air must circulate under them) suspended off the ground in the coop (no reintroduction) with food & water, for a few days or sometimes longer.

^^^ This. I have never tried it, but there are very experienced chickenkeepers on this site that have, and swear by it.

 

[aart]

Yep, wire 'breaker' crate is the way to go for fastest results.

My experience went like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest, I put her in a wire dog crate with smaller wire on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a couple of 4x4's right in the coop with feed and water.

I let her out a couple times a day(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.

Feed and water added after pic was taken.

 

[Patinas]

I recently had a broody hen, first time I've had to deal with one and I broke her by keeping her out of the coop during the day and then putting her on the roost at night after dark. Took 2 days and nights to break her.

If that hadn't worked then I would definitely have followed @aart 's advice and put her in a cage elevated off the floor. The pics he has provided in this forum are great! Makes total sense to not let them stay warm and cozy!

 

[Sublight]

Yep, wire 'breaker' crate is the way to go for fastest results.

My experience went like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest, I put her in a wire dog crate with smaller wire on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a couple of 4x4's right in the coop with feed and water.

I let her out a couple times a day(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.

Feed and water added after pic was taken.

This is the ticket, you have found your answer. Notice how the air gets all around her? I would still like to make a couple of points.

Silkies are a breed of chicken that LOVES to go broody. If you break her today, she may be broody in 2 weeks again. If you don't want her to be broody, then try to keep the coop barren of eggs. It wont stop her, but when I want mine to go broody, I put in a bunch of fake eggs. Its like drugs to a junkie.

Second, Silkes are great mothers. If you want more chickens, then just use that same crate, and put cardboard around it on all sides, except the front. Keep her with food and water, and let her sit the eggs. It is super cool to see them with little yellow chicks. I LOVE IT. I have 2 broody silkies right now.

I would buy the crate, and keep some scrap cardboard around. Then you can use the same crate to allow them to go broody, and break their broodiness with the same crate.