No more eggs

[Bushastead]

We have two 8-9 month old silkies. They finally started laying eggs two ish months ago. For a month and a half straight we were getting two to three eggs a day. Both spent all day either in the run or out in our yard. It has been in the high 50s/ 60s. We noticed about four weeks ago that our black silkie was showing broody tendencies all of a sudden. She only comes out in the morning, mid after noon and evening for some food and water. And the rest of the day she sits in her nesting area. She doesnt roam the yard anymore, just the run. But they were still laying eggs.
Now it has been just over a week and we have not gotten any eggs at all from either of our two silkies. The black one is still broody but comes out a few times a day. And our other one is acting as normal. Scratching all day in the yard.
We had one day of snow, but the following day it was back in the 60s. There food has not changed so I'm curious on why all of a sudden they both stopped laying.
I read that if one goes broody they all stop laying eggs, is that so? Or can one chilly day just throw them off? Cause literally nothing has changed with them.

 

[cluckadoodledoo13]

If they all seem healthy then i wouldn’t worry. It can be a common occurrence with silkies as they aren’t great layers to start with. If they’re less than a year old them they probably won’t have got their laying fully sorted out yet as they do tend to start later than other birds. Depending on how many nest boxes you have then the 1 broody hen could be causing the issue. If she’s in charge (without a cockerel the top hen in the pecking order) then the others might not be able to get past her to lay anything.

 

[aart]

For a month and a half straight we were getting two to three eggs a day.

How many birds do you have?

We noticed about four weeks ago that our black silkie was showing broody tendencies all of a sudden.

The black one is still broody but comes out a few times a day.

She's been broody for a month?
Coming a few times a day doesn't sound like a broody.
Is she on nest most the day and all night?
When you pull her out of nest and put her on the ground, does she flatten right back out into a fluffy screeching pancake?
Does she walk around making a low cluckcluckcluckcluckcluck(ticking bomb) sound on her way back to the nest?

What all and how exactly are you feeding?

 

[Bushastead]

How many birds do you have?



She's been broody for a month?
Coming a few times a day doesn't sound like a broody.
Is she on nest most the day and all night?
When you pull her out of nest and put her on the ground, does she flatten right back out into a fluffy screeching pancake?
Does she walk around making a low cluckcluckcluckcluckcluck(ticking bomb) sound on her way back to the nest?

What all and how exactly are you feeding?

Ok, then I may not be educated as to what that means.
She is flattened out when she is in the nesting box. When I try to look under her she just flopps over. She is in the nesting box most of the day except for the few times she comes out for food, water and a dust bath.
I have two silkies and 4 or 5 nesting boxes. I havent actually tried to take her out of the nesting box as she does come out a few times on her own to get water and stuff. So I was just letting her do her thing.
She is eating her typical feed I give them along with what ever they eat in the yard.

 

[Bushastead]

If they all seem healthy then i wouldn’t worry. It can be a common occurrence with silkies as they aren’t great layers to start with. If they’re less than a year old them they probably won’t have got their laying fully sorted out yet as they do tend to start later than other birds. Depending on how many nest boxes you have then the 1 broody hen could be causing the issue. If she’s in charge (without a cockerel the top hen in the pecking order) then the others might not be able to get past her to lay anything.

We have two silkies and 4 or 5 nesting boxes. But they both lay their eggs in the same one which she is now always occupying. But idk if that would make the other stop laying.
Both are healthy. I have not seen anything not normal except for one (olive) spending a whole lot of time in the nesting box and now both not laying for a week or so.

 

[aart]

If you don't want her to hatch out chicks, IMO it's best to break her broodiness promptly.
Gonna take longer to break if they've been sitting longer.
My experience goes about like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest (or as soon as I know they are broody), I put her in a wire dog crate (24"L x 18"W x 21"H) with smaller wire on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a couple of 4x4's right in the coop or run with feed and water.

I used to let them out a couple times a day, but now just once a day in the evening(you don't have to) and she would go out into the run, drop a huge turd, race around running, take a vigorous dust bath then head back to the nest... at which point I put her back in the crate. Each time her outings would lengthen a bit, eating, drinking and scratching more and on the 3rd afternoon she stayed out of the nest and went to roost that evening...event over, back to normal tho she didn't lay for another week or two. Or take her out of crate daily very near roosting time(30-60 mins) if she goes to roost great, if she goes to nest put her back in crate.

Tho not necessary a chunk of 2x4 for a 'roost' was added to crate floor after pic was taken.

 

[Bushastead]

If you don't want her to hatch out chicks, IMO it's best to break her broodiness promptly.
Gonna take longer to break if they've been sitting longer.
My experience goes about like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest (or as soon as I know they are broody), I put her in a wire dog crate (24"L x 18"W x 21"H) with smaller wire on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a couple of 4x4's right in the coop or run with feed and water.

I used to let them out a couple times a day, but now just once a day in the evening(you don't have to) and she would go out into the run, drop a huge turd, race around running, take a vigorous dust bath then head back to the nest... at which point I put her back in the crate. Each time her outings would lengthen a bit, eating, drinking and scratching more and on the 3rd afternoon she stayed out of the nest and went to roost that evening...event over, back to normal tho she didn't lay for another week or two. Or take her out of crate daily very near roosting time(30-60 mins) if she goes to roost great, if she goes to nest put her back in crate.

Tho not necessary a chunk of 2x4 for a 'roost' was added to crate floor after pic was taken.
View attachment 2101232

So this isnt something she will just snap out of?

 

[aart]

So this isnt something she will just snap out of?

Not usually, no.
They can lose condition by setting to long...why it's best to break them.

 

[Bushastead]

Not usually, no.
They can lose condition by setting to long...why it's best to break them.

Condition?

 

[Bushastead]

Not usually, no.
They can lose condition by setting to long...why it's best to break them.

Could I just block off the nesting boxes? I dont have a crate