2 Things Broody Hens and Road Rage Drivers have in Common

What to do with a Henzilla....

We are the first to admit we have a THING for chickens.  They are funny, smart and very helpful in their daily garden bug eating chores.  Chickens come with all kinds of personalities and just like with people you can get the one from time to time that is just a pain.

Enter the Broody Hen...

You can't plan ahead to NOT end up with a Broody Hen.  A hen goes broody when she stops laying and plops down on a nest.  Hers, others, a pile of rocks... she just sits...  and generally gets mean.  In our case we have noticed ... 

 Our Broody hen has a lot of things in common with drivers with road rage...

1.  100% of the time her needs matter more than yours.  It doesn't matter if you are feeding right on time (going the speed limit).  She is upset and wants to be first to the food.  When we open the chicken tractor for the night she wants to be first in.. and heaven help anyone who gets in her way.  (prior to this while outside  she will sit on a pile of rocks and yell an anyone who comes to close... sound familiar?) .


2.  She doesn't know when to stop.  If she decides she is irritated she will hen peck and chase the other chickens.. even off of eggs they have just laid.  Similar to a Road Rage Driver who decides to follow you when you turn off or wants to drive beside you and harass you.   There is a reason Broody Hens are called henzillas.

What to DO

There isn't a good fix.. When we get a chicken we make a commitment to her to keep her for her lifetime so we just take the good with the bad and let her be.  Not all hens go broody btw and we are lucky we only have one.   Sometimes we will slip a package of frozen peas under her cuz cooling her egg region can help it pass but in general not much to do.  And it doesn't happen every year.

Our Advice? MAKE THE BEST OF IT!

What a broody hen can do is sit a nest... and that is what they really want to do.  So sometimes when our hen goes broody we order a few eggs and let her do her thing... (we order eggs cuz they come fertilized so they will hatch and she raises different varietal chicks .. we don't keep roosters).   This is a win win for everyone and in our case she is a great mother.  Some broody hens will peck the eggs and break them, some will kill chicks (think henzilla)  but ours is fine.. when she gets broody she just wants chicks... So our barnyard motto is  'alright already here have what you want.. now stop honking your horn!.  

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Follow the Castle Gardener.   Perfecting permaculture and organic practices that are NO WORK and can be done by a farm girl with painted nails..