Silkie

[c0dywhite]

Idk if this is the right thread, but here goes..
I've heard silkies go broody all the time & makes good mother?
I have some & was wondering of I should leave the eggs & see if they go broody. When they lay, I take the eggs & the next time they lay right back in the same place. Will they go broody? How can I tell if they'll go broody?
My ducks also lay eggs there too.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

If she sits on the nest for long periods of time and only really gets up to eat or drink, then she is acting broody. My cochin hen fluffs up her feathers when I try to touch her in the nest box and makes a little hen growl. Once she starts showing the behavior you can collect and set aside the eggs you want her to incubate for up to a week at room temperature. Then put them under her all at once, so they start incubating at the same time.

 

[c0dywhite]

Alright thanks for the info.
Since we're kinda talking about laying eggs, if a hen&rooster are mating, does that mean the hens are laying?

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Do you mean has she started laying yet some time after 20 weeks old? If she is accepting the rooster's mating instead of running away, then there is a good chance she has started laying. My pullets started squatting around the time they started laying.

 

[c0dywhite]

The rooster mates every chance he gets, but I'm not getting a single egg from my big chickens.
I am getting eggs from my ducks&silkies tho.
I wonder if the chickens are laying out somewhere?