About a month ago I noticed a little Phoenix hen spending a lot of time in one of the nest boxes. She would leave for two or three hours at a time, but she slept in the nest box at night and spent a great deal of time there during the day. And then suddenly, a few days later, she stopped leaving the nest at all. Ever. It got to the point that I had to pick her up and put her by food and water, just to make sure she was eating and drinking. She had gone broody.
A broody hen is one that is ready to incubate eggs. Actually, a better description is a hen that is determined to incubate eggs. A broody hen desperately wants to hatch eggs and have little baby chicks to care for. I’ve read about hens that will sit on rocks for weeks at a time while broody. My little Phoenix had no eggs in her nest – thanks to the jerk that collects eggs so many times a day she often grabs them as they are popping out of a hen’s butt. (Note to self: Give the girls a break). She was sitting on one of the fake eggs. So, even though the last thing I need is another chicken in this yard, I decided to put an egg underneath her. It wasn’t her egg, but it was an egg – and she seemed extremely grateful. Doesn’t she look grateful?
OK, maybe she looks a little annoyed at the camera shoved in her face, but the point is she’s been sitting in that nest for over three weeks. And she’s been sitting on that egg for over two weeks. It takes around 21 days for a fertile egg to hatch and since we are going on about 16 days with that egg, I candled it last night. I’m new to this, so I’m just going to give you the about.com definition of candling: “Candling” is a term used to describe a method by which bird breeders check to see if eggs are fertile or not. When an egg is candled, a bright light is held behind it, to illuminate the shape of the contents of the shell. The breeder will then determine whether or not the egg is fertile based on the color, shape, and opacity of the contents.
It seems my little broody is sitting on a dud. When I candled the egg with Bernie’s ultra-blinding mag light, I saw no shape whatsoever. Like I said, I’m new to this, but I’m pretty sure a bouncing baby chick is not in this hen’s immediate future. So now I need to ask Cousin Julie how to get this hen off the nest and back into egg laying. Broody hens do not lay eggs. And egg laying is a big attraction around here for having hens. Besides, this little Phoenix is looking pretty run down. Her comb has withered and is a very pale pink.
It’s time for this girl to get back into the swing of things. Cousin Julie – expect a phone call.
So, just when I was thinking our broody little spell was about over, yet another little Phoenix hen began spending a great deal of time in a nest box. I tried to ignore it, but two days ago she stopped leaving the nest at all. *sigh* And, you guessed it, even though I do not need even one more chicken in our yard, I put six eggs underneath her this morning. I just can’t help myself. And I’m not even going to pretend she’s looking happy in this picture.
But look at that cute little saddle she’s sporting! She’s got it all discombobulated, but you can see it’s quite stylish.
And if you think she looks thrilled in that picture, just look at how happy she is to have me lifting her up so you can see some of the eggs she’s sitting on.
The red X’s on the eggs are how I marked them so I know what she’s supposed to be incubating. Those sneaky little hens will climb right up there and lay other eggs for her to sit on. I collect all the eggs each day, and just leave her the ones that are marked.
I would love for her to hatch some of these eggs, but I have no idea if that’s going to happen. I’ll let y’all know.
Oh, by the way, I added a page that has a couple of dog food and dog treats recipes. I’ll add to it over time.
Bee Free,
Penny
