Going broody?

[collickchickens]

We have a silkie hen that is just 6 mths old she is always sitting in the nesting box it seems. She still laying an egg per day but she sits on the egg(s) until we take them and at times sits on an empty nest. Going Brody or just likes sitting?

 

[capnmoby]

Sorry, not an answer, but I have a Black Cochin doing the same thing.

 

[donrae]

She's a silkie, so she's likely practicing being broody. Since she's still laying, she's not committed.....yet. It's probably just a matter of time, though. If you want her to go broody, allow a clutch to develop and tempt her that way. If you don't want her to go broody, now would be the time to invest in a broody breaker cage and start using it.

 

[aart]

Is she going to roost at night?
Is she sitting all day long?

Some of mine seem to like to lounge and relax before and after laying, other are in lay and out-done.

 

[collickchickens]

What is a broody breaker cage?

 

[aart]

What is a broody breaker cage?

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 and I would feed her some crumble a couple times a day.

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.
Water nipple bottle added after pic was taken.