[mdueal]

Hope someone can help with this random question:

I have a silkie pullet that has been showing classic signs of being broody for the last couple of days:
- not coming out of the coop like she normally does - only for a short feed/drink
- Sitting in nest box - not just sitting having a rest but determined 'i shall not be moved' looking
- squaking if you touch her
- sitting on a very warm (what we think is a) sultan egg sometimes but others just sitting on nothing
- and today i noticed her abdomen feathers are all over the coop and she is bald on her undercarriage.

Now, the oddest thing about it is that, as far as we know, she hasnt laid an egg yet! We have been getting a bantam sized pure white egg 5-6 days/week since Christmas which we presumed was from our sultan as when we had the first one i felt both girls' pelvis' and the sultan's had definately widened.
When i picked up the silkie today (and noticed her mising feathers) i also felt for a bound egg to see if that was the problem (no that i can feel -phew!) and also noticed her pelvis had widened. Otherwise she is fit and well and I have looked about the garden for hidden eggs and couldnt see any.

So:
1) is it possible for a hen who has never laid an egg to go broody?
2) What should silkie eggs look like? Is it possible that these pure white eggs are actually coming from both of them and it is a coincidence that we have never had two on the same day?

[Jellyhead]

Really sorry I cant help with this one. Chickens can be so odd. I have gone from having 5 eggs yesterday to 13 today :shock:

[milliebecks]

I'm very sorry, but I can't help with your problem.

BUT ....... I think the thread title is fab and very intriguing :? , so I'm sure there will be plenty of answers soon

[agapanthus]

They certainly can!!!!!   The reason for the feather loss is to get more heat directly onto the eggs!

[mdueal]

wierd - i wonder if she is about to start laying then as her pelvis has widened or if some of those white eggs are hers. Will be upset if they are cos that means she missed out on her 'my first egg' picture! Rather like your 'my first day at school' picture but without the spit and polish with a hanky that your mother always did first... I always hated that!

[ness]

I was of the understanding that they couldn't go broody without starting to lay.  Not from experience (not much of that, I'm afraid) but from what people told me when I was convinced my hen was broody before laying.
I reckon she might have been laying all this time.  Weirdly I just read on the Omlet website that silkies start laying at Christmas!?  How do they know that? :shock:

[mdueal]

An update:

She is definately broody and intent on being so.

I read somewhere that to break broodyness you have to do it early but now shes been broody for a few days and gone to all the trouble of plucking undercarriage feathers out we thought we would give some quails a go.
I have given her one of our green eggs from the allotment hens to sit on so she stays broody till quails eggs arrive - may leave this in then, as if it has had right head start it would hatch at same time as quails if fertile?

At the moment she is just in the regular nest box but tonight we plan to move her into her own little broody pen - which will be mostly made from a very small dog kennel (terrier sized) borrowed from next door that we have disinfected and treated with mite powder. Should moving her at night be ok? She cant stay where she is as nest boxes are 'upstairs' in the coop and little chicks would fall to their deaths if any hatch!

As for the broody pen - does it need anything special? Should we make a small run to attach to it or just put mesh and a closable door over the opening for now?

What does she need in the way of food and water? I havent seen her get off the nest today. Theres a pile of (massive!!) droppings just outside the nest box where she is at the mo so shes not going far to do her business. I offered her a small handful of mixed pellets, corn and small amount of grit nearby and she ate that quickly but didnt use the cat dish of water i put near her (which i have now taken away as i didnt want it spilled and the nest to get wet)

What do you think? This would be our first time hatching eggs so any experience/advice shared would be greatly appreciated!