| Broody Hen | |||||
| Tuesday,
February 22, 2000 3:18 PM Ah... spring time at the farm. The birds are singing, the rain is falling and we have our first broody hen of the season! Today as I skipped out to the chicken coop in search of fresh eggs, I peeked into the area where we store our hay. There tucked behind a big bale of alfalfa I spotted my white Sultan hen sitting on eggs! "Yippeeeeeeee!" I exclaimed to Maggie Doggie. Maggie Doggie cocked her head at me, then sniffed the hen. She got a swift peck to the snout as a warning from the broody gal. "Well, well...let's see what she's got under her." I managed to pick up the angry hen long enough to get a picture to show you the *huge* pile of eggs she has her warm lil' feathered bottom on. Not all of these are hers, hens tend to add eggs to a nest that has been left unattended. Then, along comes a broody hen, who will hatch them all (if they are fertile). Now, a broody hen just wants to sit on something. They have been known to sit on *rocks* or just their own *feet* if eggs aren't around. In this case, she has 4 or 5 Araucana eggs mixed in, which are the GREEN eggs! I'm really excited, because I can see that these chicks will be Sultan and Araucanas -- exotics! We've had a tough winter for my
flock this year. The predators have hauled
off many of my favorite birds, but it |
Not all of these eggs are hers. Hens tend to lay eggs in one spot (if there's not a hen already on the nest). The term "nest egg" can be traced to a wooden egg shape placed into a nesting box to encourage hens to "stockpile" more to the nest. |
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