Silkie hen laying eggs but not broody

[SilkieSplash]

Hi all BYC

I have 4 hens and 2 roosters ( all of them are Silkies) my ons hen will be one in March and my rooster (her man) is over a year. She is laying eggs but doesn’t sit on them and each day she eats one egg after she lays another egg. I feed her scramble eggs , apple , bananas, cheese , plain yogurt , layers feed and more veggies.

What can be the problem or is this normal

 

[Prince and Pavo]

Hello!

Hens eating their eggs is often a sign of malnutrition, stress, boredom, or bullying from other chickens. What kind of layer pellets are you feeding her? How much?

Is she kept in a small confined space?

Does she have space to get away from the other chickens if necessary?

 

[sourland]

I would take the eggs away as she lays them and replace them with nest eggs. Egg eating can become a very bad habit if allowed. If you plan on hatching them, place in an egg carton and turn daily until she goes broody.

 

[nuthatched]

Broodiness is caused by hormones, not by diet or how many eggs she has. You can not make a hen go broody. It's up to her hormones and genetics.
Please cut back on the extras and feed only a good quality grower feed with oyster shells on the side, since you have roosters.
Everything else is a treat and should be given every few days in very small amounts, otherwise your birds will get health problems and shortened lifespans.

 

[SilkieSplash]

Hello!

Hens eating their eggs is often a sign of malnutrition, stress, boredom, or bullying from other chickens. What kind of layer pellets are you feeding her? How much?

Is she kept in a small confined space?

Does she have space to get away from the other chickens if necessary?

I do feed her all sorts of health foods suitable for her, my husband build me a cage of approximately 1m x 2.5 m and I do give her fresh water every day and mielies with the layers feed for our local animal food store (Alzu) I would say about 200g every morning. She is 10 months old and she’s a small hen compared to my other hens that’s about 6 months old. I do give them lots of attention and I do give her free range during the day

 

[fluffycrow]

It could be seasonal. Her eating her eggs is something that you should stop, since it could turn into a bad habit

 

[SilkieSplash]

I would take the eggs away as she lays them and replace them with nest eggs. Egg eating can become a very bad habit if allowed. If you plan on hatching them, place in an egg carton and turn daily until she goes broody.

I will definitely try that thank you very much

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Not every hen, even silkies, will brood. I had a few years ago that never bothered to even try and brood

 

[EggSighted4Life]

What can be the problem or is this normal

Hi there, hope you are enjoying BYC!

Excess treats may cause diminished nutrition (protein and amino acids) and contribute to reasons of not achieving a biological ability to become broody.. or get that level of hormones.. (malnutrition not yet bad enough to cause more serious conditions??)

Eating eggs is biologically not normal as the species would die out.. also NOT acceptable (other flock mates may learn this nasty behavior).. possibly a sign of weak shells (nutrition related).. only time eggs get eaten by birds here is happy accident. Consider collecting eggs daily and leaving fakes to detour curiosity peck.. it's possible the bad habit has formed already and may not be so easy to break..

Genetics does play a role.. Some lines are less broody than others.

FWIW.. the hens that are gonna go broody will do so even in an empty nest.. on the egg they laid that day and stay even when you collect it.. they will brood air..

I never fed my Silkies under 20% protein feed with calcium source free choice on the side.. and wouldn't really recommend "layer" as an appropriate ration for them.. though it MAY suffice.

Your hen to rooster ratio is not ideal in most cases and *may* also be rough on the ladies. In some instances.. hiding in the box may be a bonus but in others that stress may prevent the hormones.. I don't know YOUR flock.. sometimes that ratio works well enough (as it did for my Bielefelder), depending on individual chicken personalities.. If they are different ages.. how long have they been together at your place?

I also think space matters, overall flock dynamics, etc.

Just a few things for consideration.