Well, today is our first post in the Broody Watch.
I was in the coop for morning chores when Claire decided to get up and do her business. Or rather, she jumped off the nest and shot out of the coop in a blur of reddish feathers, so fast I barely recognized it for what it was before she was gone.
Once outside, she took a huge and rather stinky broody poop (explained best in this informative post by the Chicken Chick), and then began circling the run and food dish, lunging at anyone who came near her.
While Claire focused on getting food and some sunlight, I snuck into the coop (to finish chores, really) and got a good look at her eggs.
They look okay and were plenty warm. A broody hen can be off the nest for 20-or-so minutes at a time to take care of personal needs.
My Abby girl got into such funks last year (a ‘broody trance’) that I took to picking her up off the nest to get her to eat and drink, at least once a day. Claire does not, thankfully, have that problem. Yet.
As Claire was taking her time, I took the opportunity to mark the eggs, just in case someone decided that looked like a good spot to lay her egg (as Amy tried to do this morning). That way, I wouldn’t take a partially incubated egg and put it in the carton to sell (or eat!).
Claire finally returned to the coop, although, she seemed, for a while, confused whether she wanted in the nest, or water.
Go Claire! It took us 4 half incubated eggs to finally figure out to mark the eggs! Our broody one likes to switch nesting boxes every other week. So we’ve started over a few times now. Good luck!
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Claire switched nesting boxes once, on Thursday, but she actually moved her eggs with her. But then she decided she liked her other box better and went back to it. I had to move the eggs back. She hasn’t swapped yet. So far, so good.
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Broodys are such Fun. I had one once I let hatch Eggs. Fun.
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Hehe what a feisty broody! It is fun watching broody hens. Frodo isn’t very feisty to the others when she comes out of the house but is very loud and fluffed up and scratches around like a maniac. Lucky you don’t have to get Claire off her nest for personal time!
-Twiglet
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Yeah, it wouldn’t be safe picking Claire up to take her outside. She’d probably tear off a finger before I made it out of the nest!
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