Managing a Broody Hen

One of the most fascinating experiences of raising a backyard flock of hens can also be the most frustrating

Every once in a while, a hen acts strangely She fluffs her feathers, changes her clucking pitch, stops laying, and spends almost all her time in the nest Reach in to retrieve eggs from under her and she’ll enthusiastically scold and probably give fingers a good peck

She’s broody!

Broodiness is a natural bird instinct Until artificial incubators came along in the late 1800s all baby chicks were brooded by a live hen Farmers would prepare rows of nests filled