Random Thoughts

A broody hen is one that is ready to set. Broodiness is part of the molting process that is required for hatching eggs. During the molting process, the hen loses the feathers on her breast, so the bare breast can warm the eggs. Her body temperature drops to an ideal temperature for hatching. She will get off the rest only once a day or so.

You wouldn't miss a broody hen – she is the one running around the yard with feathers all standing up, clucking to herself. She thinks the whole world is her enemy and she hates them for that, but she has no shame because she is confident that she is the noblest of all.

When sitting on the eggs, she growls at anything that comes near her. She thinks everyone is out to harm her and snatch the eggs. She feels vulnerable and assumes that everyone wants to take advantage of her (as if others have nothing else to do). She is at the height of possessiveness.

Because she stops laying eggs during that period, a hen setting is unwelcome in a farm where she is grown for the eggs. A hen entering the process means about a month of lost eggs. I remember my mother used to try different tricks such as tying the hen up on one leg, hanging her upside down etc. to force her out of the broodiness. I am not sure if these measures helped. It might have, or my mother wouldn't have done it over and over.

If a hen is actually used for hatching eggs, the broodiness continues even after hatching. Now, she has to protect the chicken. That possessiveness comes naturally without any after-thoughts. She would chase anything that comes near her family. If the enemy manages to snatch one of her chickens, she immediately forgets about the lost child and calmly comes back to the remaining flock. Here, the behavior of the enemies is odd too, but our discussion is about the hen, so let's stick to her.

Anyway, why did I talk about the broody hen? If you look around, you can see one or two of them right around you.