Silkies are great moms. Well, most silkies are great moms. Pretty Bitty? Not so much.
It was her fist time going broody and she was doing pretty well until I realized she had kicked out two of her four eggs, which were fertile. Shoot. Since she is very low in the pecking order I decided to put her in the brooder to give her the security she needed, wondering if perhaps someone else was messing with her or her eggs.
I have a 4 ft long by 2 ft wide by 2 ft high brooder that my husband built (kuddos Honey). He build a channel down the middle that enables me to split the brooder in half with an additional piece of plywood.
So, after splitting it I put broody Pretty Bitty on one side and broody Tater Tot on the other (she’s my queen bee). Immediately Tater Tot sat down on her eggs, she’s a great mom. Pretty Bitty stood there next to her eggs squwaking in total confusion. She wanted back with the rest of the flock. I decided to give her a few minutes to settle in and would come back to check on her.
10 minutes later
She is still standing NEXT to her eggs. I decide to give her a few more minutes.
5 minutes later
Tater Tot has hoped the divider! She is chasing Pretty Bitty around pecking at her. What kind of Houdini?! There is no more than a three inch gap between the top of the plywood divider and the roof of the brooder but she managed to hop over it. Quickly I put Tater Tot back on her eggs and added Pretty Bitty’s eggs to her clutch. Next I took Pretty Bitty back to the rest of the flock.
Apparently that’s all it took to break Pretty bitty of her bout of broodiness. I never again saw her in the nest boxes.
Moral of the story: not all silkies are committed to hatching chicks. However, my Pretty Bitty has her place and her value. She’s pretty, she’s sweet and she does lay eggs. She just won’t be hatching any eggs anytime soon.
