Butterscotch has been broody for just under two weeks. The last few days she has been staying out of the nest box for longer and I could tell she was coming to the end of her broody spell.
Yesterday morning when I went out to the girls first thing, she was already out, instead of me having to get her out of the nest box. That was it, she stayed out all day. At bedtime I didn’t bother closing the nest boxes and she went to roost in the chicken shed. It’s over for now.
I am struggling to tell if her head looks better or worse. Some of the pins are opening and there are little bits of fluff there now but I think some of the pins have also disappeared. I hope there will be enough feathers remaining to eventually cover her head even if she no longer has a crest.
I think this side of her head does look a little better
I’m not sure if this side looks a little worse
A little out of focus but a closer view
There are now some little bits of fluff. I hope that next year will be different because she won’t be laying and going broody through the winter. I hope this means she will moult and regrow her feathers more quickly.
Butterscotch really has had the longest moult I have ever come across. She has been moulting bit by bit for eight months now. It would be so good to see her with feathers on her head again.
Click here to see the history of my flock.
I hope her little tuffs do growin,
They are what makes her look so cute.
So you will soon be getting more eggs.
I hope her little tuffs grow in soon
they are what makes her so cute.
So you will soon be getting more eggs.
If they don’t grow in this year they will come back next year when she moults again. I expect she will be laying again in about a week or sometimes less.
She certainly is her own person / chick.
She is indeed. She marches to her own drum.
She will feather up again, but she does look strange without that top knot – I did love the photos of her top knot when wet! I don;t know if it is typical of silkies, but mine never undergo a full moult in the autumn like my other breeds – it’s mini-moults all the time, often around periods of being broody. Speaking of which, Cotton is again, and I’ve set her away with 10 eggs, 4 x welsummer bantams I got from ebay (probably not the best idea) and 6 of our own – we’ll see if the light sussex cockerel has a greater fertility rate than the silkie I had last year!
I hope you are right and she does feather up again. You are right that it is odd seeing her without her top knot. I was hoping this was a one off being her first year but maybe this is how she will go if your silkies have been the same.
I will be interested to see what results you get from Cotton on her mixed clutch. Interesting times, do keep me posted. I would love to know the results and progress of chicks.