Silkie acting weird because I’m trying not to have more baby chicks.

[HappyChickens101]

So one of my silkies has been trying to be a mom by laying in her egg during the day. We’ve been taking the eggs out to eat and not to have chicks. When I reach under her and take it away, she stays there even without the egg. My sister was worried about her because today was 71° and when she took her out of the nest she was shaky and went to drink for a long time. She pooped a large poop figuring she’d held it in Bc she didn’t want to leave the nest. But she’s still kinda shaky and won’t leave the coop. How do I fix that and is her behavior normal?

 

[HappyChickens101]

She keeps wagging her tail and shaking her feathers to like re-fluff. She scratches in the dirt as if she is trying to find bugs but doesn’t eat. Is she trying to look for her egg?

 

[TwoCrows]

Sounds like she is broody, her hormones are telling her it's time to hatch chicks. Silkies can be a very broody breed. You don't have to allow her to incubate eggs, especially if you don't have a rooster no sense in letting her set on unfertilized eggs. She may spend time sitting in the nest box even without eggs. After a while her hormones will drop off and she will stop being broody. However Silkies tend to be broody a lot over their lives.

You might get her out of the box several times a day so she can get sustenance, stretch and dustbathe. The tail wagging is just her adjusting her feathers.

 

[HappyChickens101]

Sounds like she is broody, her hormones are telling her it's time to hatch chicks. Silkies can be a very broody breed. You don't have to allow her to incubate eggs, especially if you don't have a rooster no sense in letting her set on unfertilized eggs. She may spend time sitting in the nest box even without eggs. After a while her hormones will drop off and she will stop being broody. However Silkies tend to be broody a lot over their lives.

You might get her out of the box several times a day so she can get sustenance, stretch and dustbathe. The tail wagging is just her adjusting her feathers.

Thank you very much. We will try to get her out to eat,drink and poop.

 

[TwoCrows]

Thank you very much. We will try to get her out to eat,drink and poop.

She will be ok, just distract her several times a day with food and free ranging and she will feel better mentally and physically.

 

[aart]

These are my go-to signs of 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?
If so, then she is probably broody and you'll have to decide how to manage it.


You can try removing her from the nest several times a day,
which might break her broodiness.
...or....


If you don't want her to hatch out chicks, IMO it's best to break her broodiness promptly.

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.

 

[HappyChickens101]

These are my go-to signs of 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?
If so, then she is probably broody and you'll have to decide how to manage it.


You can try removing her from the nest several times a day,
which might break her broodiness.
...or....


If you don't want her to hatch out chicks, IMO it's best to break her broodiness promptly.

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 2412258

She sits in the nest at night when there’s no egg because I collect them each day. I closed the coop up now during the day but they have access to water and plenty of grass outside. I’m just worried when I leave for thanksgiving break.

 

[HappyChickens101]

Also when i take her out she stays fluffed up and lays on the ground and I have to pick her up so she can get moving then she poops big and ears a lot of feed.

 

[TwoCrows]

Also when i take her out she stays fluffed up and lays on the ground and I have to pick her up so she can get moving then she poops big and ears a lot of feed.

She sounds just super broody. The more you distract her, the better she will feel. Broodies can get depressed, try to stimulate her with attention and free ranging. But being a Silkie, she will no doubt be broody again soon.

 

[HappyChickens101]

She sounds just super broody. The more you distract her, the better she will feel. Broodies can get depressed, try to stimulate her with attention and free ranging. But being a Silkie, she will no doubt be broody again soon.

What should I do when i leave for the week for thanksgiving? No one will be there to pick her off the nest. Will she get off by herself to poop,drink, and eat?