October 4, 2012
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Learn something new every day: A broody hen will pluck the feathers off her underside so her body heat is closer to her eggs. Wow. I was afraid she was hiding in the nest box, cowering from a predator that had roughed her up a bit. But this is good. Broodiness is much easier to deal with than predators.
In spite of our encouragement ("Hey, look at all this green clover out here! And there's sunshine! Lots of sunshine!"), Marilla has spent the last three days in the nest box. When we force her out to pasture with the others, she pecks around for a minute or two, then heads right back inside. I'm debating whether to wait her out, or to try some of the "cures" suggested on BackyardChickens.com. One thing's for sure: she's not hatching any chicks. We gather eggs several times a day, and *ahem* we don't have a rooster.
Comments (1)
In the 'old' days when Tim's parents had chooks here they would put the broody hens in a wire cage with plenty of air circulation and hang it in a tree. It cools them down and takes them off the boil!! Also, you need to take away any eggs under her or she will just keep sitting. Unless you can find some fertile eggs from someone else to pop under her.
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