Help! Extremely Broody Silkie!

[Aspen Anderson]

That would be a great idea. My Cochin has an adopted silkie, and I’m not planning on telling either of them!

That is too adorable. If you think it'd work, then maybe I could give it a try! I've always wanted a frizzle or polish, afterall.

 

[redranger209]

It works best at night, with day old chicks. I’d wait till your feed store gets a new shipment, then buy two or three and slip them under. It works nearly every time.

 

[Aspen Anderson]

It works best at night, with day old chicks. I’d wait till your feed store gets a new shipment, then buy two or three and slip them under. It works nearly every time.

Awesome. Thanks for the tips!

 

[Teila]

Hey there Aspen Anderson I hear ya and I sympathize! I have bantam Cochins who spend more time broody than they do actually laying eggs

Anywho, I did just want to say, being a first time mum, if you give her chicks, watch her very closely as there is no guarantee that she will accept them and may attack them. Also, giving her chicks means that you will either have to separate her from her friend anyways or take the chance that the friend accepts them also.

I do not want to be an alarmist but just want to advise that you have a Plan B [brooder] ready if Plan A does not work.

Good luck!

Oh and I also wanted to say, there is no reason that your broody can not have company in broody jail so, if you make the broody jail big enough, she could take a friend

 

[Aspen Anderson]

Hey there Aspen Anderson I hear ya and I sympathize! I have bantam Cochins who spend more time broody than they do actually laying eggs

Anywho, I did just want to say, being a first time mum, if you give her chicks, watch her very closely as there is no guarantee that she will accept them and may attack them. Also, giving her chicks means that you will either have to separate her from her friend anyways or take the chance that the friend accepts them also.

I do not want to be an alarmist but just want to advise that you have a Plan B [brooder] ready if Plan A does not work.

Good luck!

Oh and I also wanted to say, there is no reason that your broody can not have company in broody jail so, if you make the broody jail big enough, she could take a friend

Ah that is good information to know. Thank you so much for that!
I'll go ahead and try Chicken jail first, then. Glad to know she doesn't have to be alone.

Again, thanks a bunch for the help!

 

[BoyTheRooster]

I don't have a rooster, but I have thought about getting her a chick or two from our local store. Would that be a good or bad idea?

That can work, there are risks like Teila said. But I've found with breeds like silkies, they'll except anything you put under them. If you want to try giving her day old chicks, you'll want her to have been broody and sitting on eggs (or egg shaped things, like golf balls) for about as long as it takes chicks to hatch which is 21 days. Doesn't have to be exact. Then when the time comes, at night swap the eggs for the chicks and it should be fine

Or maybe ask around your local area if anyone else has hens with roosters that you could get some fertilized eggs from and put those under her

 

[Teila]

Ah that is good information to know. Thank you so much for that!
I'll go ahead and try Chicken jail first, then. Glad to know she doesn't have to be alone.

Again, thanks a bunch for the help!

The purpose of the raised crate [broody jail] is to not let her get comfortable; to have an air flow on her tummy to help cool down the hormones and to keep her out of sight of a nest box, all of which can be done with company

My broodies can get a bit cranky and pick on their flock mates so I actually do have to separate them but I have friends who have multiple broodies and they go off to jail together.

 

[BYCforlife]

I just ordered 5 silkies. I'm going to let them go broody fairly often, and I'm prepared for impossible non-broodiness.

 

[Aspen Anderson]

That can work, there are risks like Teila said. But I've found with breeds like silkies, they'll except anything you put under them. If you want to try giving her day old chicks, you'll want her to have been broody and sitting on eggs (or egg shaped things, like golf balls) for about as long as it takes chicks to hatch which is 21 days. Doesn't have to be exact. Then when the time comes, at night swap the eggs for the chicks and it should be fine

Or maybe ask around your local area if anyone else has hens with roosters that you could get some fertilized eggs from and put those under her

That might be worth a try! I'm going to try the chicken jail first, though. Thank you!

 

[Aspen Anderson]

The purpose of the raised crate [broody jail] is to not let her get comfortable; to have an air flow on her tummy to help cool down the hormones and to keep her out of sight of a nest box, all of which can be done with company

My broodies can get a bit cranky and pick on their flock mates so I actually do have to separate them but I have friends who have multiple broodies and they go off to jail together.

That makes sense. Thank you so much!