Just how broody are silkies?

[chickens4jojo]

My oldest silkie just started laying some precious little eggs three weeks ago and now she is broody. She won't budge from her nest box filled only with hay!

They are interesting birds though and sooooo pretty.

 

[playswithfowl]

I have two buff silkies that I use as natural incubators.

 

[kentuckysilkies]

As others have already said they will hatch any egg you give them. If you do not give them eggs you are in for a battle to get them to stop being broody. My girls will find rocks and sit on them. I plan to hatch Peafowl with mine his summer.

 

[Nikki28]

Could you hatch cortunix eggs with a silkie?

How old are they before they go broody?

I noticed you can only order them in a straight run....what do you do with cockerels... I don't imagine there is alot of meat on them...?

 

[paduanchook]

my buff silkie just went broody! in january? that blows my mind (not a big explosion) i have used her to raise chickies several times she didnt even set on....shes a walking incubator!

 

[Teresaann24]

Thats what silkie hens should be called walking incubators. I have a hen who went broody 3 times in 5 months. Could never get that girl to stop she is finally molting and just hatch one chick about 3 and half weeks ago so Hopfully she will refraim from going broody till spring.

 

[Preservation Acres]

I read an article once that conservationists use silkies to hatch whooping crane eggs as well as the eggs of other endangered birds because the silkies are more reliable than incubators.

 

[chilling in muscadine]

One of my silkies little Miss Lulu laid her first two eggs and then went broody. The problem was my sultan hen was going in her nest and laying so when the first two eggs hatched Miss Lulu wouldn't come off the nest. For four days I took food and water for these two biddies to have. Miss Lulu wasn't coming off that nest so what I did was made one of the biddies scream and she came off that nest them. lol I than put the remaining eggs in my bator.