Help me break my broody silkies!!!

[LaFleche]

Silly bird!

The poor thing just falls victim to raging hormones!

 

[SnootyHen]

Good news is that Millie Jean finally broke. Bad news is now Betsy thinks she wants to be a mama. She isn't full on broody yet but she's getting there. Spend a few hours in jail so the others could lay on Saturday and that might have been enough to discourage her but I'm still watching that one.

 

[Muddygurl]

Hello all,
So, as the weather is getting warmer, three of my five silkies have decided to go broody. All at once. Well, I don’t have any fertilized eggs to hatch, so this is obviously a problem. I have tried everything to break them. Locking them out of the coop, replacing their eggs with ice cubes, distracting them, repeatedly removing them from their nests, etc. I have tried the chicken jail method in the past, and it hasn’t worked with them. I also don’t have a cage. Previously, I have been forced to let the broodiness run its course. However, this is really not an option here.
So, how do I break the broodies? Any ideas are appreciated! Thank you.

I have been having the same challenges too! I even got rid of my Rooster but I will try chicken jail. My first year with chickens I’m so stressed.

 

[SnootyHen]

Millie and Betsy are back at it too. Gah!!

 

[LadiesAndJane]

I have never been able to broody break my silkies. I just let them be broody and take them off the nest a few times a day to make sure they eat, drink and dust bathe.
I have no problem breaking any of the other breeds I have. I have found that it is pointless with the silkies.

 

[sixlittlechickens]

Two more of mine went broody too! I’m locking them out of the coop, then it’s broody jail time. I swear, the broodiness is extra contagious this time of year ! One gets broody and the next day they’re all trying to hatch eggs!

I have no problem breaking any of the other breeds I have. I have found that it is pointless with the silkies.

I agree

Millie and Betsy are back at it too. Gah!!

Oh no!

 

[MiaSophia2020]

I have 4 silkie hens and 1 silkie rooster. The hens go broody ALL THE TIME it seems, and usually at the same time. They are very hard to break. I was wondering, does having a rooster make hens more prone to go broody? (Fertilized vs infertile eggs?) My rooster is sweet and he’s the only one I kept from the original 3 chicks over a year ago, but I really would like to have more eggs that I’ve gotten from these girls.
I also wonder if giving them “fake“ eggs to sit on would break the broodiness sooner? I don’t mind if it lasts a week, but the last time was over 3 weeks long. Out of coop/nest every day, no bedding, block nest, etc. Thanks!

 

[MiaSophia2020]

I have never been able to broody break my silkies. I just let them be broody and take them off the nest a few times a day to make sure they eat, drink and dust bathe.
I have no problem breaking any of the other breeds I have. I have found that it is pointless with the silkies.

Same for me! Doesn’t matter what I do, they will not break. I just posted a reply asking for more advice but maybe that’s just the way it’s going to be. I knew they were a broody breed which is fine, but didn’t realize how often they would go broody.

 

[Aunt Angus]

This is kind of an older thread, but it got bumped.

My Silkies are almost perpetually broody. I used to try to break them, but now I just let them be broody (although I gave Violet some babies to raise this last time). I take them out a couple of times a day, check their crops to make sure they're eating, collect any eggs they may be collecting, and trim their beaks and toenails.

I have found they generally manage broodiness better than my bigger girls. They will eat/drink, and they don't seem to get as angry or crazy as my others. They don't pluck themselves bald, either.

But if you need an incubator or a foster mama, I truly believe there are no better birds for those jobs.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

I have 4 silkie hens and 1 silkie rooster. The hens go broody ALL THE TIME it seems, and usually at the same time. They are very hard to break. I was wondering, does having a rooster make hens more prone to go broody? (Fertilized vs infertile eggs?) My rooster is sweet and he’s the only one I kept from the original 3 chicks over a year ago, but I really would like to have more eggs that I’ve gotten from these girls.
I also wonder if giving them “fake“ eggs to sit on would break the broodiness sooner? I don’t mind if it lasts a week, but the last time was over 3 weeks long. Out of coop/nest every day, no bedding, block nest, etc. Thanks!

No difference if you have a rooster or not, no difference if the eggs are fertile or not, no difference if there are ANY eggs or not. Basically nothing you can do about it in my experience!
There was one time I put the two broody girls in a separate enclosure away from their nests and just let them stay in there for probably a good 10 days this broke their broodiness but they may have been done being broody anyway, hard to say!