Upset broody silkie

[Harri]

I collected two broody silkies from a friend last night, they have been sitting in her nest box for the last few days. Brought them home and put them in my garden shed... in a large plastic box each with lots of straw, with a wooden divide between the two boxes, about a foot high. I didnt put any eggs with them as wanted them to settle first. they sat happily in their new nests and were still sat this morning... i went to work, and when i came back they were perched side by side on the wooden divide :-(

I placed fertile eggs in both their nests and left them..... i know they could have been upset by being moved to a new home, but could the light from the window have upset them too??? Do broody hens need pitch black?????

I hope they sit again soon.............. what do you think??

 

[chrismahon]

Hi Harri and welcome to the forum. They need to feel secure and they won't if they have just been moved. Ours go in small individual coops, so it is fairly dark for them but most importantly secure. Have they got a cover above the box?

Usually takes a couple of weeks to settle in.

 

[Marigold]

I agree with Chris - moving one is always stressful for hens and is probably one of the best ways of curing a broody hen! They will only sit when thy feel secure, so a new environment, however nice, will take a while to get used to. They do prefer dark nestboxes, so it depends how much light gets into your coop whether this is off putting. Also, its best to make up a separate small coop and a safe little run for each broody, rather than leaving them together in an ordinary shed or coop, as when the chicks hatch the mothers may not tolerate another family alongside theirs, and you don't want to disturb their arrangements once they have started to sit.
It's best to wait until you are sure the hens are truly broody before setting them on fertile eggs you want to hatch - you may not be able to use this batch of eggs, but if you give the hens quiet conditions and a peaceful life, they will show you whether they have still any inclination to sit this time round. If not, you'll have to keep them a few weeks whilst they settle in with you and go round the cycle of returning to lay and then going broody again. As they are silkies, this won't take long!

 

[Harri]

Well they are in a box that is set on its side, so covered all around apart from front...... a couple of days after posting this, they were sharing one nest... so i have put their boxes side by side, they are now happily sitting one on each nest..... the person i got them off usually puts three eggs under each and leaves them to sit together... they must be very friendly hens!!! once hatching starts i will lift one back over partition so little ones cant mix!! i'lll keep you updated on how it all goes!!!!!!
thankyou