- Mar 20, 2011
- 32
- 0
- 32
My 7 month old bantam silkie went broody a couple days ago after laying eggs for only a couple weeks. While we got our little flock for their eggs, they almost immediately became treasured pets, so I am asking from that perspective. I don't care about not collecting eggs from her for a month, but I would love to know thoughts on what is best for a broody hen is we have no plans to provide her with fertile eggs. Should I wait it out as I have been doing, making her leave the nest 4-5 times a day, or will this be unhealthy for her as she is getting next to no excersize. I tried to block the nest yesterday, but have to shut all the chickens out from the nest boxes so this is not a good solution. She also spent all afternoon desperately trying to break through the fence so this seems more likely to cause her stress and harm. I can't imagine dunking the little thing in ice water or hanging her in a wire cage. Again, I am not concerned about the loss of eggs, I'm only concerned for what is best for the health and well being of our little Zsa Zsa. And it sounds like we may be facing a lot more broodiness from her in the future as she is a silkie. We are also experiencing temperatures in the 90's and up this week, so I am concerned about her overheating as well. Thanks for any advice. I know there are many threads on broodiness, but they all seem to focus on getting their broody back into egg production and that isn't our top priority.
