Yes, I Have a Broody.

[3KillerBs]

Why do you ask?

 

[3KillerBs]

The handiwork of Mocha, one of my 7-month-old Mottled Javas.

In literature the broody chicken is often used as the image of gentle, careful motherhood.

Literature tends to neglect the savage protectiveness of a broody defending her eggs.

 

[Chicks in VA]

ouch sorry you got hurt
and love that last sentence it funny

 

[3KillerBs]

ouch sorry you got hurt
and love that last sentence it funny

I've been pecked many times, but Mocha BITES.

I'll have to start wearing long sleeves and gloves because I'm not letting her sit until I have a suitable space for her to sit in where I won't be at risk of a staggered hatch and interference from the others.

 

[Lemon-Drop]

Sorry That you got hurt-but that made me laugh so hard.

Luckily I’ve never had an aggressive broody-most are silkies, so very sweet. They cluck a little, and maybe puff a bit, but not more than that.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I have had both the sweet, doting mother types and the bloodthirsty velociraptor types. Gotta love 'em!

They're not unlike human moms, if you think about it.... Hormones screw with us all.

 

[kcan2]

Oh no! Her opinion of your interference looks like bloodthirst!

 

[3KillerBs]

She's not sitting tight all day yet, but when she sits she's intensely protective. I'm considering getting a pair of dishwashing gloves to keep down there so I can get eggs without bleeding.

I'm not all that happy with the Javas in re: temperament or laying, but I would value a good broody if she's as attentive to her chicks as she is defensive of the nest.

 

[Coops Dad]

I had a gentle, tiny black Silkie who'd go broody at the drop of a hat and, when she would set on eggs, would bite like a piranha. She'd bite, clamp down and shake her head like she was trying to tear out a wedge of flesh. I ended up giving her away to someone who wanted a hen who'd sit on eggs until they hatched and he didn't care how hard she bit. He was warned.

He called me weeks later and said he thought I was exaggerating her ferocity but was surprised at how accurately I described her fury. He said she hatched the first clutch and her rage extended to the protection of her babies as well.

 

[3KillerBs]

I had a gentle, tiny black Silkie who'd go broody at the drop of a hat and, when she would set on eggs, would bite like a piranha. She'd bite, clamp down and shake her head like she was trying to tear out a wedge of flesh. I ended up giving her away to someone who wanted a hen who'd sit on eggs until they hatched and he didn't care how hard she bit. He was warned.

He called me weeks later and said he thought I was exaggerating her ferocity but was surprised at how accurately I described her fury. He said she hatched the first clutch and her rage extended to the protection of her babies as well.

This hope is why I'm not contemplating changing Mocha's name to Lemon-Rosemary.

The other current broody, Cordon, gripes about disturbances but doesn't get aggressive.