the silly silkie

by pete_inthehills
(aberdeenshire)

We have only one silkie in our flock of 8 hens and like most silkies she is broody. Unlike most, she seems to think of the most stupid places to set up nest.

At first she tried the usual locations, in boxes, inside nettle thickets, but then she decided to get adventurous. We have an old barn in which we keep bales of straw and feed for the other animals. At the back it is piled high to the roof with wood for the winter. I hadn't seen the silkie for a day or two which meant that she had a new nest. She always came out for a bite to eat and a drink in the morning so I laid in wait for her. Sure enough she appeared out of the barn pottering along without a care in the world.

I know the hens don't like to be watched so I hid at the back, near the wood. I had a good view of the rest of the barn. And here she came, right up the length of the barn. And up to the wood pile which she climbed until she was up at the top. We have an old owl box in the rafters that had never been used...until now.

She's sitting there now...I've replaced the eggs with a fake one. I don't know how long she'll stay, but she seems happy enough. Its not an owl box any longer.