Wait Until You See What This Silkie Chicken Tried to Hatch
Silkie chickens are known for being extremely broody, and anyone who keeps them in their backyard knows they'll try to hatch just about anything once their maternal instincts kick in. Nikki of @purelychickens is used to finding one of her Silkies sitting on unexpected things, but even she wasn't prepared for what she discovered in this video.
Her fluffy little hen became completely devoted to protecting and "hatching" an unexpected baby, and clearly did not want Nikki checking to see what she was sitting on. You'll never guess what she found, and once you see it, you'll probably wonder how in the world the Silkie managed to find it in the first place.
@purelychickens This girl is always broody! She'll never get babies this way!! #silkies#silkiechicken#chickens#broodyhen
original sound - Purely Chickens
Nikki joked in the caption, "This girl is always broody! She'll never get babies this way!" Not the babies she's expecting anyway!
Viewers also got a kick out of the chicken sitting on a remote. @meldopolis joked, "Maybe a baby TV will hatch and grow into a big one lol!" Nikki laughed and replied, "My husband would like that! He wants a new TV. I'll try it!"
@noct shared, "'It's not gonna hatch!', Not with that attitude!!"
Related: Funny Chicken Needs ‘Validation' From Her Human Mom Every Time She Lays an Egg
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Why Silkie Chickens Are Famous for Going Broody
Silkie chickens have a reputation for being some of the broodiest chickens around. They were specifically bred for their strong maternal instincts and natural tendency to sit on nests, whether there are actual eggs underneath them or not. In fact, one Silkie mama was once found happily trying to hatch a pile of golf balls!
Under the Henfluence explains that "‘Going broody' is what we call it when a chicken, a hen specifically, decides she wants to be a mother and starts sitting on her eggs to incubate them." Hens will often lay, or even steal, enough eggs to create a large clutch before settling in to hatch them.
According to the site, hens go broody when they experience an increase in the hormone prolactin. "In mammals, prolactin kickstarts the production of breast milk. In chickens, it makes them want to sit on eggs and pluck out their feathers."
They also shared a fascinating comparison from nature, explaining that octopuses exhibit similar brooding behavior while tending to their eggs. Their description of how shared biological instincts show up across species is especially beautiful: "It's a bit like a Lego set. We're all using the same blocks to make unique creations."
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This story was originally published May 17, 2026 at 6:00 AM.