Why aren't my silkies going broody?

[happyhens]

I have 4 silkie pullets/hens (one is about a year old and the others are a couple months older). Between the four of them, I am getting 1 or 2 silkie eggs a day. I keep expecting one of them to go broody, but none of them ever do. I bought them so they could hatch eggs for me, so far that plan isn't working at all. They aren't cooperating at all lol.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Are you letting them build up their clutch. or taking their eggs away?

 

[happyhens]

I let them build up for about 3 days then gather them. Is that not long enough? Usually in 3 days there are about 4 or 5 eggs in it (there are some other chickens that lay in the same nest)

 

[Happy Chicken Mama]

Just consider yourself lucky!

I get like six or seven eggs and then mine goes broody.

Then she dosen't lay for a month and then again with a few eggs!~

 

[happyhens]

Quote:
But that's what I WANT them to do lol, that's why I bought them in the first place. The other reason I bought them was because they are really, really cute. But they still need to do something!

 

[chickenwhisperer123]

I know its not what you want from your broodies, but I would say that they are worth their weight in gold! Usually the problem is that they are TOO broody and never lay. You cant really make them become broody, but I would try to leave the eggs in there for longer, and sooner or later, one of them will be bitten by the broody bug.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Most chickens will build their clutch up over a couple of weeks. Three days, even if others are laying in their nests, is not enough.

Leave the eggs (or at least some a handful) in their nest. You can mark them by day, who laid them or whatever, but let them slowly build up their nest for a couple of weeks. If it takes more than a couple of weeks for someone to go broody, then rotate the oldest eggs out.

 

[happyhens]

Ok thanks I will try it.