I'm stumped

[Ladyrebel]

I have 2 silkies, a male (white)and a female (black). My silkie hen went on a laying spree back in December. Afterwards she sat on one egg. I thought OK she wants to be a mom. So after 23 days (giving it plenty of time) I checked. No egg. So I pulled out the nest to burn and found the egg under straw and cracked. After placing fresh bedding and straw my little rooster went in and made a new nest for her. There is no egg but she is just sitting there as if there is one. Can't keep her off the nest. Should I go to the hatchery and buy a baby chick for her to mother or what? I'm so stumped.

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi and welcome to BYC - good to have you onboard with us.

Seems like you have two choices - either you get some fertile eggs and let her sit, or you break her broodiness. I would not say giving her a chick is the best idea, as things can go wrong - especially if she has no other chicks.

For tips on breaking broodiness - just search "breaking broodiness" in the search box - you'll find all the advice you need.

This is just my opinion, but if she has been broody for lets say, at least 4 weeks, then it may be better to break her since broody hens eat a lot less food when they are broody and she may well have lost some condition already. That, combined with the cold weather (I'm assuming) is not a good combo.

Silkies, i understand, go broody very often, so don't worry, there will be lots of other opportunities for her to hatch. If you do wish to breed from her, then collect eggs and mark them with the date. Keep the last 7-10 most recent eggs and once you are sure she is broody, then pop them under her. Again, lots of threads on how to store eggs for setting here on BYC.

Good luck
CT

 

[N F C]

Good advice from CTKen. I hope you have good luck with your next hatch!

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. X2 on CTKen's advice. If you haven't done so already, definitely check out our Learning Center at https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center. There is lots of useful information there. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Cheers.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[NickyKnack]

Hello!

Welcome to BYC and the coop! There's a lot of great peeps here! Feel free to ask lots of questions. But most of all, make yourself at home. I'm so glad you decided to join the BYC family. I look forward to seeing you around BYC. That's just the nature of a Silkie hen. Good luck with your girl.

 

[drumstick diva]

When hens decide to go broody they will try to hatch, rocks, golf balls or even thin air - that's the nature of the beast. Silkies are generally more determined than other breeds. You may want to explore that on the "Silkie thread," where others have a great deal of experience with broodies. You could also put "Breaking a broody," in the search box to find articles about it.

 

[appps]

Great advice just want to add it's possible to give them couple day old chicks but there are no guarentees she will fall for it. Recently tried that with my broody silkie and after she tried to kill it a few times I ended up having to madly rush and build a brooder with heat lamp etc and raise it myself. So while that can work you need to be prepared for plan B if it doesn't.