Is my silkie trying to be a rooster, is she egg bound or is she broody?

[Jennihen]

For about two weeks now, my normally quiet black silkie is constantly clucking, even while eating, and then about once or twice an hour she sqwalked or crows. She seems to be eating and drinking fine, walks and moves fine, but what the heck? My neighbors are starting to notice - I heard her do her crow once at night! My silkies have gone thru broody phases before but usually they just sit on the nest quitely and don't want to be moved. I don't think she has laid an egg for about this same amount of time, and my husband could feel a softer egg in her abdomen, but fairly high up. Should we give her a warm bath ( egg bound?) or a cold one ( broody?) any help or suggestions are appreciated!! Thank you!!

 

[Teila]

Hey Jennihen, Welcome to BYC

I would definitely keep an eye on her for signs of:

Lethargy
Drooping tail
Signs of discomfort or straining
Frequent trips to the nest box without producing an egg
Any changes to gait, waddling etc
Abnormal poops

When my Silkie was broody, whenever she left the nest, she made a noise which can only be described as a Peacock screech!

Also, I have a Frizzle who skipped the nesting part of being broody and went straight to raising her invisible babies. She protected them from the others, talked to them the whole time and also stopped laying

 

[Jennihen]

Thank you Teila! She has none of the above signs you mentioned except maybe poops- I will watch closely. Have you tried the cold bath for broodiness trick? I don't want to torture her but honestly if she's ok otherwise the squawking needs to stop! We have no rooster so there's no point to her sitting on eggs. I love your story of the invisible chicks!!

 

[Teila]

No problemo

Hhhhm, I am probably the wrong person to speak to with regards breaking broodies as I tend to not ‘break’ them.

Your girl, if broody, is a little different in that she may have skipped the nest part, same as my Frizzle and gone straight to motherhood.

There are lots of threads in BYC regarding breaking a broody but they are for those on the nest .. the most popular method is a couple of days in a wire crate with good air flow to cool them down, no nest in sight and nowhere comfortable to snuggle down and do the broody thing; the other method which you have mentioned (which I do not like) is frequent baths in cold water, again to cool them down or, you could do what I do (because I am a sucker for a broody) and give her some fertile eggs (I do not have a rooster either and purchase eggs from elsewhere) and hatch some bubs; but again, as she is not staying put on the nest, this is probably not an option.

To be honest, with regards the squawking, I am not sure how to deal with that. My Silkie doing her Peacock impersonations was only an issue when she got off the nest and as it sounded nothing like a chicken and I do not own a Peacock, I guessed that the neighbours would not be pointing the finger at me

If she was just doing it in the morning, I would suggest trying to darken the coop til later but if she is doing it at night and throughout the day, I am at a loss for suggestions

 

[marneypoo]

You might want to check her over for mites or lice and treat. Something like that will stress them and they will fuss a lot and stop laying.

 

[marneypoo]

Also could there be a rodent, bird, or snake getting into your coop? Mine will have a fit anytime anything gets near them.

 

[Jennihen]

It's not caused by a critter getting in or nearby because I've stood there and watched her bak-bak-bak-bak-bak-skwaAaalll ! And she's just walking around. It's very repetitive. I think she's either thinking she's already a momma or is crazy. I'll try secluding her in the separate pen and hope for the best! I'll let you all know!!

 

[Jennihen]

I have a video but can't figure out if I can include it on here.

 

[Jennihen]

Also, I have a Frizzle who skipped the nesting part of being broody and went straight to raising her invisible babies.  She protected them from the others, talked to them the
whole time and also stopped laying 
[/quote]

How long did she care for her invisible chicks? I could maybe have a thicker skin for her sqwalks if I thought they could be an end! We separated her from the others yesterday and last night but it made no difference. So this morning we let her back out. She's stil at it!

 

[Teila]

Hey Jennihen

LuLu mothered her invisible babies for 2-3 weeks and then cut the cord

Cilla, my just over 2 year old bantam Cochin who is still mothering her nearly 11 week old bubs decided to start making a strange noise this week. I had no idea what it was and kept running out to the coop to see if it was one of the girls; eventually, I caught her at it, she was attempting to crow

Luckily that only lasted for a couple of days.