So I have a hen that this morning has decided to go broody. I have only had them a month or so, so I've been watching and learning. It just so happened that she decided to go broody underneath a stepstool that was sitting on our outdoor dining on our back deck. Which happens to be about a a foot away from our dining room window, so I just sit at the table and watch her.
Anyway I gave her a pity egg because she didn't have one (hadn't laid at all since stopping last fall) and she was trying to get comfy which is pretty hard to do on a wooden table. The egg ended up rolling off and breaking on the ground so I decided to make her a real nest box. I had a wooden crate I stood on it's side and screwed in a little piece of 1x1 to keep stuff from falling out, put some shavings in it and gave her an egg.
She messed with it for a little while and then once she got situated, she left the nest and went over to the other side of the table where I happened to have a closed carton of eggs. She was trying to open it with her beak to get at the eggs! It was hilarious... so I gave her one more and marked them both. They aren't fertile or anything but I am thinking of getting some fertile eggs for her to hatch.
And the coolest thing is then about 10 minutes later she laid her own egg and then left the nest and went scratching. Maybe this all day broodiness was just a buildup to her excited about laying her egg! Who knows. It was pretty cool though! If anything, now I have one more hen who is laying.
Anyway I gave her a pity egg because she didn't have one (hadn't laid at all since stopping last fall) and she was trying to get comfy which is pretty hard to do on a wooden table. The egg ended up rolling off and breaking on the ground so I decided to make her a real nest box. I had a wooden crate I stood on it's side and screwed in a little piece of 1x1 to keep stuff from falling out, put some shavings in it and gave her an egg.
She messed with it for a little while and then once she got situated, she left the nest and went over to the other side of the table where I happened to have a closed carton of eggs. She was trying to open it with her beak to get at the eggs! It was hilarious... so I gave her one more and marked them both. They aren't fertile or anything but I am thinking of getting some fertile eggs for her to hatch.
And the coolest thing is then about 10 minutes later she laid her own egg and then left the nest and went scratching. Maybe this all day broodiness was just a buildup to her excited about laying her egg! Who knows. It was pretty cool though! If anything, now I have one more hen who is laying.
