Are Silkies Good Broody Hens

Silkies are famous for being broody hens; in fact, many people keep silkies around to use specifically for hatching new chicks. They will hatch just about anything and are good mothers as well.

How often does a Silkie go broody?

Silkies are not the breed to keep if you do not want to have to deal with broody hens, most go broody at least once a year. When a hen goes broody, she stops laying and sits. She will usually sit for at least 3 weeks and may not lay for another six weeks after that.

How do I get my Silkie hen to go broody?

You can encourage a Silkie to go broody by placing a couple of dummy eggs in her nest area, these can be unfertilised eggs or rubber dummy eggs which you can buy from any good pet store or poultry centre. Once you have noticed that your Silkie is broody you can then put fertilised eggs under her.