Broody

There may be a coup d'etat in the coup.

General Chao broke the news. Every time the hens go into the hen house to lay an egg in the favorite nest box...

there sits Mother Clucker...morning, noon, and night! She's gone broody. This hen's hormonal motherly instinct to hatch eggs has taken over and there is basically nothing to be done about it. She just wants to be left alone and sit on her imaginary eggs until they hatch...about 3 weeks.

And the rest of the girls are ready to vote her out of the coop. The first day of Mother Clucker's broody state, the other chickens were literally waiting in line for her to get out of that nest box.

When I open the nest box door to daily remove the eggs, this is all I see. Broody hens pick out their belly feathers so their warm skin lays directly on the eggs. Mother Clucker continually ruffles out her outer feathers so she looks BIGGER and meaner to predators and other chickens. She has not laid an egg since she started her broody habit.

Once or twice a day she comes down to eat, drink, and poop. While she's gone, another hen will lay an egg in the favorite box. Even though we don't have a rooster to fertilize the eggs, she will immediately lay on the other hen's egg until I remove them too! But on most days...she lays on an empty nest.

Say what?

Let's hope she gets over this broody thing soon!