One of our Barred Rock hens has gone broody. This means she is sitting on the nest, trying to hatch some eggs. We've helped her (we hope) by moving her to a separate area for some peace and quiet. Some hens are quite determined to use a certain nest box, even if there's already a chicken in it. Our broody hen would be pestered all the time by other hens trying to get in there, too! (This should not give the impression that there aren't enough nest boxes--hens do this even though there are numerous other boxes available. Chickens are not known as great thinkers.)
We try not to get our hopes up, since this is only the second hen to try hatching eggs. Many things can happen to thwart the process, such as unfertilized eggs, damaged eggs, a hen just giving up... We tucked in a few extra eggs from other hens in hopes that will increase the chance of getting chickies. It takes about three weeks for the eggs to hatch. Here's hoping for some new additions to the flock!
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