I ran an auction (free to good home) to rehome Nora, my younger blue Ameraucana, and had just arranged for Nora to go to a new home. She was going to be picked up at the end of the month by one of our newer BYC members. Well, yesterday, out of the blue, Nora is broody.
She stayed on the nest all night, clucking under her breath, guarding her nest.
Today, we decide she can't stay in the #1 favorite nest in the coop, which of course, she chose, so we fix up the broody pen, add five eggs, and put her in it. She is NOT having that! No way. Found her on top of the brooder lamp instead of on the nest. She was raising cain for an hour or more. We give up. We move her and her eggs back to the nest she wanted. She settled down, just singing to herself. So, we will remove any eggs laid in that nest and let her stay till her babies hatch, then she goes into the broody pen. Silly hen is over two years old, never a sign of going broody until I decide to rehome her.
I had just said to Cetawin that I dread the day Nora goes broody because she is a mean woman on the nest anyway. I requested to her new owner that she stay here to brood for several reasons. He is a new chicken owner and probably not ready for a broody wench, plus this heat makes it dangerous for Nora and we have lots of time to keep an eye on her and make sure she gets off the nest to eat and drink. He graciously agreed it was probably best for her to stay here till she raised her chicks. So, she is exactly where she wants to be with a fan blowing at the nest. I just hope none of the others give her too much trouble. At least she is in a nice, large, open nest that should stay as cool as any of them in there.
Thank you, Mark, for being so understanding about Nora.
Here is Nora.
Today, we decide she can't stay in the #1 favorite nest in the coop, which of course, she chose, so we fix up the broody pen, add five eggs, and put her in it. She is NOT having that! No way. Found her on top of the brooder lamp instead of on the nest. She was raising cain for an hour or more. We give up. We move her and her eggs back to the nest she wanted. She settled down, just singing to herself. So, we will remove any eggs laid in that nest and let her stay till her babies hatch, then she goes into the broody pen. Silly hen is over two years old, never a sign of going broody until I decide to rehome her.
I had just said to Cetawin that I dread the day Nora goes broody because she is a mean woman on the nest anyway. I requested to her new owner that she stay here to brood for several reasons. He is a new chicken owner and probably not ready for a broody wench, plus this heat makes it dangerous for Nora and we have lots of time to keep an eye on her and make sure she gets off the nest to eat and drink. He graciously agreed it was probably best for her to stay here till she raised her chicks. So, she is exactly where she wants to be with a fan blowing at the nest. I just hope none of the others give her too much trouble. At least she is in a nice, large, open nest that should stay as cool as any of them in there.
Thank you, Mark, for being so understanding about Nora.
Here is Nora.
