What to do with my broody Silky

[marymac]

My silky is broody, which is what I want. I'm waiting for some fertile eggs to arrive. She is sitting on nothing in the corner of our coop. I would like to put a enclosed cat carrier in there for her to make her nest in and when the eggs arrive hopefully that would be where she would hatch them out. Would this be ok to do now? Should I give her a real egg to sit on or a golf ball? I want to make sure she stays broody and don't want to mess up her thinking lol. What to do?

 

[Majestic Lane Poultry]

Move her now with something fake to set on. I use wooden eggs. Leave the door to the cat carrier open for now to see if she is serious. Sometimes they will set for a few days and then go find something better to do. This will be a good time to test her.

best of luck.

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

How long before your eggs get there. Do you have a non fertile egg you can let her sit on for a while and then just throw it out? That's what I would do.

 

[JennsPeeps]

You could give a silkie anything to keep their broody interest up. I've heard of sillkies setting on plastic turtles, action figures, rocks, sandbox toys, toy trucks, golf balls... anything.

Just throw a selection of items from your junk drawer under this bird. That'll keep her occupied until you get the real eggs.

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

If you dont want her to be broody, more her to a wire bottom cage to get air moving under her, it will cool her off and "throw" the broodiness.

If you want her to be broody, just leave her where she is. I had to break a broody hen the other day, who had been setting on nothing for a month and a half just .

 

[Majestic Lane Poultry]

Quote:

 

[marymac]

I want her to stay broody. I just was worried that if I put the cat carrier in there now maybe it would break her being broody. I thought the cat carrier would give her some privacy from the other hens as I have a mixed flock of larger hens, and my coop is small.

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

The cat carrier is really not needed at this point. If shes gone broody in a pen with other birds, it obviously didn't bother her in the first place. My hen that was setting on nothing for a month and a half was in a 4x4 pen with another rooster and hen, and she didnt budge!

 

[JennsPeeps]

The cat carrier will be fine as long as there are nesting materials in there for her.

Silkies are stubborn broodies, so it's likley that she'll still be broody when the eggs arrive.

You KNOW that you have to post pics, right?!?!

 

[marymac]

I will def. post pictures. I just hope I will have babies to take pics of. The eggs I'm getting are BLRW's. This is my first time and my silky's first time.