Broodytime

I usally tell people who are thinking about silkies: take what you think is alot of broodiness and multipliy it with 10. This is true!

Its rare for my nestboxes to be empty for weeks. Its even more rare for see all my 10 silkies togheter, since atleast one is always broody.

All you need is a good strategy to break them and a good routine to handle them while they are broody, so they can stay healthy.

How do you know that your hen is about to go broody?

• She will be moody. You will you will get some growls, low and high.
• She will do what I call dragonstance. She will lower her neck and spread her wings to make her self look bigger.
• She will pick up trash and lay it on her back (Most common is straw, but they use everything)
• The most obvious sign, she will clucking

How do you know that your hen is broody?

I have sometimes tought one of my hens have gone broody but she was just grumpy being disturbed while laying. So reconsie these signs:

• She will go what I call pancake mode, basicly she becomes flat.
• When you pet her she will give away a very diffrent growl and tuck her head almost against her belly. Fluffing her self up making her look bigger.
• It vary from hen to hen how often she will go broody but an average is about every third month. Then she will be broody about 21 days, have a break from laying eggs for about 2-8 weeks. Lay for about 2-4 weeks before she goes broody again.

My experience: I have started to noticed the early signs when Im about to have a broody hen. So when a fluffy ball lays in the nestboxes, I aint suprisedTo make it as natural as possible for them (without hatching chicks) I make a note on the calender when they have laid 21 days (the time it takes for a chick to hatch). Day 22 I start breaking them from their broodiness.For most my hens its enough just to close the hatch to the coop (Really important to male sure everyone who is laying has laid!) If I have to leave them I make my version of broody jail. Splitting my coop in 2. For most my hens this take between 1-3 days before their broody hormones are gone.Some hens are more stubborn. My paint hen Bartok, are almost impossible to break. For her it aint enough to close the hatch to the coop. You need to seperate her from the hatch it self. Most effective on her is broody jail and usally takes 5-7 days before she gives up