Silkie broody for like the fourth time!!!!!

[Annalyse]

She's a year old and it's like her fourth time going broody!!! I just caught it but I don't think I caught it fast enough as she's been staying in the box for a couple of days but I thought it was because the other hens wouldn't bother her and she was laying eggs! just now I caught her stealing some eggs. Will be doing the cage method tomorrow which is annoying as it's hot outside now.

 

[JaeG]

Unfortunately, Silkies would rather sit on eggs and hatch them than lay them. They'd probably rather sit on eggs and hatch babies than do anything else, eating included. It's a rare Silkie that doesn't go broody extremely often.

I've never put my broody girls in broody jail, but that's just me. I don't see the point of fighting nature, especially when you have birds who have retained those instincts to sit and hatch chicks (which is invaluable when you need a bird with those skills). And it actually usually works in my favour as then they molt after being broody and start to lay again and lay eggs all winter. But we have enough birds that a few being broody doesn't affect the egg supply.

One of our Orpingtons, in her first few years of life, would seriously lay 10 eggs and go broody for 6 weeks, molt, start laying, lay another 10 eggs, go broody again. She kept us well supplied with winter eggs for those few years though (as she never went broody in winter but kept laying eggs for us).

 

[aart]

Will be doing the cage method tomorrow which is annoying as it's hot outside now.

Might want to freeze a bottle of water and stick that in the cage.
Move cage around the yard so she's always in the shade.

 

[3KillerBs]

This is one of the reasons I don't keep Silkies. They're known for being always broody.

 

[Annalyse]

Update: I might be making a new thread but this morning my BO attacked my broody silkie. I heard rustling in the coop and looked through the window my BO was going at my silkie. She ran out and went to drink water and than my BO was drinking near her and didnt do anything than but she wont let the hens in the boxes and if you are in one she kicks you out of the coop.