About two weeks ago our little black silkie hen went "broody", which means she stopped laying her own eggs and wanted to sit on her nest all day. When a hen goes broody it is because she wants to incubate and hatch some chicks. Most modern chicken breeds have had the "broodiness" and "motherliness" bred out of them because they aren't desirable traits for chickens you want to get the maximum egg laying capacity out of. Silikies though still have the genetics to be really good mothers and are some of the best "brooders".
So when our silkie went broody I was really excited because I've been wanting to hatch some of our own eggs this Spring and get little chicks. I had her sit on golf balls and ping pong balls for a few days to make sure that she was serious about being a mother and wouldn't get up and desert her nest.
She remained faithful and so about a week ago I moved her into her own little coop away from the other chickens and gave her 7 eggs to sit on. She has been siting on the eggs for about a week now and I am starting to get really excited. I just hope that some of them hatch. I might try "candling" some of them in a few days to see if I can see any developing embryo's', but I've realized that broody chickens are kind of like laboring women and that they do best if just leave them alone... the more you mess with them the more likely the chances are of something going wrong. So, maybe I'll just leave her alone and let her stay in her rhythm... or maybe I'll be like an annoying nurse and keep "checking" her to see if the eggs are making progress. It would be really cool if we could see the little chickens developing inside!
Check back in about two weeks for some exciting egg hatching... hopefully... Jon might be out of town so he's made me promise I'll get it on video!
3 comments:
She probably won't let you get to the eggs, without pecking you to death. Good luck!
Oh Heather...I have to tell you when we moved to this house we're renting now in TX, I really thought I wanted some kind of livestock or something because we're kinda in the country. Seeing your blog about all the animals and fun stuff you're doing...makes me really wanna do it but I don't think it's realistic because of the military moves. So please enjoy the experience for me as well. And take plenty of pictures and video! Please?
Heather this is so neat! I am totally jeaous I don't have a broodying chicken :( I am not sure if the grammer was correct on that one! lol! By the way your kiddos are adorable and you are such an amazing mother to your children and your chickens- you are just pretty much incredible!
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