Broody Silkie

[heopdyke]

So my little silkie decided a few days ago she wanted to be broody. So I decided I would let her sit on two eggs. They are two eggs from my sex linked hens. I am definitely disappointed she isn't sitting on her eggs but that's okay. I am just trying to keep her happy because let me tell you she is an angry girl if you try to mess with her eggs. My questions are; is it going to be too cold for her to hatch eggs (I live in Central NC), do I need to watch to make sure my other hens don't bully her, will she prevent my other hens from laying, signs to look for if the eggs are going bad, and how long is the incubation process? The eggs were laid yesterday (11/5). I have never done this before and I really just care about the wellbeing of my hen. I know being broody can take a lot out of a hen and with the colder months just around the corner I want to make sure she is safe. I am removing her from the eggs every afternoon to make sure she uses the bathroom, eats and drinks. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you,
Hillary

 

[HappyDuckie]

Are the eggs fertile? If she isn't sitting on the eggs, then she isn't fully broody yet. Some people give them golf balls or fake eggs until they are sitting on them, then replace them with fertile eggs.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

So my little silkie decided a few days ago she wanted to be broody. So I decided I would let her sit on two eggs. They are two eggs from my sex linked hens. I am definitely disappointed she isn't sitting on her eggs but that's okay. I am just trying to keep her happy because let me tell you she is an angry girl if you try to mess with her eggs. My questions are; is it going to be too cold for her to hatch eggs (I live in Central NC), do I need to watch to make sure my other hens don't bully her, will she prevent my other hens from laying, signs to look for if the eggs are going bad, and how long is the incubation process? The eggs were laid yesterday (11/5). I have never done this before and I really just care about the wellbeing of my hen. I know being broody can take a lot out of a hen and with the colder months just around the corner I want to make sure she is safe. I am removing her from the eggs every afternoon to make sure she uses the bathroom, eats and drinks. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you,
HillaryView attachment 2401069

As @duckiemum noted, they have to sit at least 23 hours a day, depending on ambient temperature, to indicate they will actually sit tight.
I don't think you have to worry about temperature. A hen can keep eggs and young chicks warm enough.
Incubation is 21 days once they come up to temperature.
She won't keep other hens from laying in the nest so people with broody hens in buildings with other layers must do is mark the first eggs so they can remove volunteers as to avoid a staggered hatch which causes problems.

 

[britesidefarm]

As @duckiemum noted, they have to sit at least 23 hours a day, depending on ambient temperature, to indicate they will actually sit tight.
I don't think you have to worry about temperature. A hen can keep eggs and young chicks warm enough.
Incubation is 21 days once they come up to temperature.
She won't keep other hens from laying in the nest so people with broody hens in buildings with other layers must do is mark the first eggs so they can remove volunteers as to avoid a staggered hatch which causes problems.

x2

 

[LateBirdFarms]

I've got a hen sitting on my first broody clutch right now, and I understand all your worries completely! What I've learned in the last 13(I think) days, is that your girl will know what to do far better than you or I and those eggs will be so warm that they leave your hands feeling toasty after you put them down, even when you step out of the coop into snowy weather. I moved my broody n clutch to my brooder pen to keep her from getting confused about which nest she should be incubating when my other hens chose to steal her nesting box while she got off to eat, drink and poop (which she would accomplish in a 2 minute window at high speed!) And placed a small dish of food and water closer to her for easy, quick access. I've got a while to wait before I know how successful the clutch will be, but as it stands, I've got 8/8 viable, developing eggs with no obvious issues!
Long story short, from what I've experienced so far, if your hen is serious, temperature doesn't seem to factor in as long as she's safely out of the wind and weather. If your broody is in poor physical condition, letting her sit a clutch is probably a bad idea no matterwhattime of year it is, but otherwise, you're going to be much more concerned about everything than she is!