We have 2 broody black jersey hens that went broody Saturday. One gave up on Saturday afternoon and the other stayed focused. We don't have a rooster so we bought some fertilized eggs and put them under her.
Today we noticed that when the serious broody hen left her clutch to go eat and drink, the other hen jumped in the box and resumed broodiness. Then when the serious broody came back in she just sat in the neighboring empty box until # 2 left then returned to her clutch of eggs and is still there. Meanwhile # 2 could careless and is out being completely normal with the rest of the flock.
Our big mystery question is... Is it a normal trait for the hens to cover for the broody hen when she gets up to go eat and drink?? or do we just have the "special" ones...
Today we noticed that when the serious broody hen left her clutch to go eat and drink, the other hen jumped in the box and resumed broodiness. Then when the serious broody came back in she just sat in the neighboring empty box until # 2 left then returned to her clutch of eggs and is still there. Meanwhile # 2 could careless and is out being completely normal with the rest of the flock.
Our big mystery question is... Is it a normal trait for the hens to cover for the broody hen when she gets up to go eat and drink?? or do we just have the "special" ones...
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