Need Broody Silkie HELP from you experts!

[AlienChick]

My silkie just went broody earlier this week; however, I don't think I have EVER seen her off the nest!

She's not dead, so I'm assuming she's eating/drinking.

I drop food crumbles in front of her face in the nest, and I've noticed her nibbling at it.

I try to dip her beak in water, but she won't drink.

I'm new to this, so I gotta ask . . .
Is she actually getting off the nest to eat and drink during the day???
Is this "normal?"

 

[2hot2chicken]

I to currently have a broody silkiie hen. I watched for hours yesterday from the shade in my lawn chair and never once saw her move so I took it into my own hands and I threw her out the door! Its nearly 90 here right now and that is hot for us so I knew she had to be hot sitting on that nest and not drinking I to was worried. I just dropped a towel over her so she couldn't bite me and scooped her up and out the dorr she went. She drank for a long time and ate a little bit but after about 10 minutes she went right back to the nest. Is she laying on fertile eggs?

I think if I remember right I read she can leave them for up to an hour at a time if its warm out and they will be fine. But she may not even be willing to do that and u do not want to break her if you are trying to let her hatch them. You could try putting a small dish of water in the nest box with her.
But you really do want to make sure she is drinking at leased some water.

Someone who has had lots of broodies might hav some other things to say to.....

Good luck but I know how you feel!!!

 

[NovaAman]

x2, take her off the next put her at the water, she'll head back in on her own in no time, but take her off. Broody girls can sometimes be a pain in their own butts. I only know that cuz the neighbor has one he has to keep kicking out of the coop once a day and she likes to bite. Silkies however, they aren't so bad in the biting...

 

[AlienChick]

Fortunately, my little silkie won't bite.
She doesn't even mind my picking her up and removing her from the nest. She puffs up, but allows me to move her.

I'll put her outside for some fresh air and water like you said. She has free access back to the coop/nest.

She only laid ONE egg, and I put two more of my Serama eggs under her.
Don't know if ANY of them are even fertile. I guess I'll check when the eggs are able to be candled.

All year long I waited for one of my hens to go broody!
Now I'm a nervous wreck that my broody hen is committing suicide!!

This is her first time going broody, so I'm sure, over time, she'll get this whole get-off-the-nest-to-eat/drink thing.

 

[AlienChick]

She now has a total of 10 eggs underneath her.

I found out that one of my d'Uccle hens seems to like that nest and will lay her eggs right beside my Silkie.

The Silkie, of course, just shoves the egg underneath her as soon as the d'Uccle jumps off the nest.

When I candled 7 of the eggs earlier this week, there were red veins in 5 of them!

I didn't even know the eggs were fertile because my roosters just don't seem to be very horny. But I was wrong!

So now I think I am officially graduated to the Incubating and Hatching Eggs forum!

 

[2hot2chicken]

LOL
Any update yet? Still settin the eggs?

I ended up finally finding some splash silkie chicks and they were ranged in age from 2-8 days so I gave her 2 oldest chicks and she has been a wonderful mother! I also have kept 2 of them in the house because 1 of them, the youngest ended up with a serious case of pasty butt and it had a small tear on its vent when I got it so I have been doctoring it and kept it a buddy so it didn't get lonly. Its healing up nicly and the pasty butt seems to be almost gone to. I was worried about putting a chick with pasty butt in with the hen. How would you deal with that? She is very protective and has bit me for just reaching near her to clean out her water!

 

[AlienChick]

My Silkie is still sitting on the eggs!

I read your post about your new baby chicks - congratulations!

Because of the d'Uccle laying in her nest box, I ended up moving my Silkie to another box inside a large dog crate I have in the corner of the coop.

I didn't have a lip on the base of the box, so three of the eggs fell out when she returned to the next after I took her out for her water break.

The eggs were cold but they were not uncovered for more than an hour.

I placed the eggs next to her and ran into the house to grab another box.

This time I'm using a cardboard file box with a hole cut out so there's a lip.

Next week I'll candle the eggs again to see how they're doing.

My question is . . . how does a "bad" egg look???