I'm turning my greenhouse into a chicken run for my Broody Girl. My chickens are free-range, and the broody one goes under the house. She didn't come out for 5 days when she recently went broody, and I was so worried. One morning at 8 a.m. she came out, and I nabbed her and put her in the coop. She made lots of throaty noises and has looked depressed ever since. I felt bad about it, but I can't get under the house and was worried about roost mites. More broodies die from roost mites than anything else.
I tried to put a bowl where she could reach it under the house, with food and water, but she didn't eat much. Now that she's in the coop I've been giving her fresh greens, since I don't dare let her free range again, because she'll go right back under the house. Today she charged me, trying to get out the door of the coop, but I got it shut fast.
She didn't look like she'd lost much weight, but she's still a picky eater. She did eat some plain yogurt yesterday and enjoyed it, as well as arugula and spinach from the garden. Strawberries aren't making as big a hit as previously, and neither is watermelon.
I should have her new greenhouse chicken run done tomorrow, so she can get more exercise and fresh air, and I won't have to worry about her going to inaccessible places to brood. Her sister is a layer, and if Broody Girl wants to sit on some of the eggs, that's okay with me, even though they are unfertilized and won't hatch. As long as she eats and drinks and poops and gets exercise off the nest, where I can see her.
I read a post that said breaking them of their broodiness could be hard on their reproductive cycles, that maybe you should just let them go broody, whether the eggs are fertilized or not. So I wonder about that. She does seem depressed at not being able to get back to her nest, so maybe I will let her brood on her sis's eggs, if she'd like. I don't think I want to bring a rooster in and deal with chicks, since we have cats.
