Making memories one day at a time.......and then I write about it.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Brooding

Brood-



n.
1. The young of certain animals, especially a group of young birds or fowl hatched at one time and cared for by the same mother. See Synonyms at flock1.
2. The children in one family.
v. brood·edbrood·ingbroods
v.tr.
1. To sit on or hatch (eggs).
2. To protect (young) by or as if by covering with the wings.
v.intr.
1. To sit on or hatch eggs.
2. To hover envelopingly; loom.
3.
a. To be deep in thought; meditate.
b. To focus the attention on a subject persistently and moodily; worry: brooded over the insult for several days.
c. To be depressed.



Things have been a bit broody around here.  It all started one day when one of The Native's was asked to collect the eggs.

"I can't, there's a chicken sitting on the eggs"!

I told The Native not to worry, the hen must be laying, leave her alone.

Next day.  Same thing.  Every time I went out to get the eggs or one of The Native's there was a hen sitting on the eggs.  It was enough hit or miss that I didn't realize it was the same hen until I started to try to collect the eggs myself.  It was Dorkus.  Of course.......

I opened the gypsy wagon to check for eggs and got the most withering look from her.  I went to check under her and the feathers plumped up and her eye got all big and ugly and rather than get my hand pecked I closed the door.  I totally get the brooding thing.

I looked up brooding hens on the Internet.  I don't want a brooding hen.  There's no rooster.  I have no intention of ever having a brooding hen.  What am I to do about it.  What I read is that I needed to 'break her up'.  There were two suggestions.  One was to isolate Dorkus in a cage with a wire bottom so she couldn't sit and get comfortable.  This would make it so her underside would get a bit chilly and her temperature would come down.  Like this:




The other suggestion was to dunk the hen.  Like this:



Another thing I learned about broody hens is that this usually happens in the spring and can be expected.  Every once in awhile, you'll get a hen that is a bit crackers in the head and try to go broody in the middle of the winter.  Dorkus.

They say that a horses behavior mirrors their owners behavior.  I really hope this isn't the case because if you look at the definition of broody 3c .......

Well, let's just say, if you happen to drive by one day and I'm either sitting in an all wire cage or The SM is dunking my bum in a bucket of ice cold water..........  You'll know why.  I'm broody.  Don't mess with me.  My feathers are sticking straight up, my eye is all evil, and if you get close, I just may peck ya!

The End!

P.S.  Dorkus is no longer broody and is happily scratching her way around the gypsy wagon.  There's hope for me yet.

12 comments:

  1. Hmmm. I wonder if they have missed a cause? Perhaps the hen, when the brood, or a member of the brood, becomes cocky, say - a young rooster? Then perhaps the hen gets broody, plunking herself down firmly on the nest, so firmly that she might keep herself from pecking him to death. I think they should have included that. Just sayin'.

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  2. Who knew chickens were so 'broody'? Both of the fixes seem mean...the big ole broom seems the best...but, glad Dorkus got the idea on her own. Really, what were you expecting from her with a name like Dorkus...not the more civilized and ladylike, Dorcas, but the I'm not quite right, Dorkus?

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  3. Kristen, I think you hit the hen on the head....

    Jody, That's what I ended up doing. I did that to her a few times and pushed her off her nest and she got the idea. She wasn't happy about it!!! But after two days she figured it out.

    Donna, Dorcas is her real name but she goes better by Dorkus (doorcuss) which is a whole lot better than what I'd like to call her. Dorka$$

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  4. Hahaha! That happened with one of our chickens- I don't know how we fixed it... My mom says "we didn't." OH WELL!

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  5. Hanna, Well now she knows how she can! :D

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  6. This story was wayyyy better than any story I could ever find on cable!!!

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  7. I can see how she could have got her seasons mixed up.

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  8. Kathy, This is the oddest most frustrating winter isn't it?

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  9. I didn't know that people said that about horses. Now I have to go analyze the horses - maybe I'll gain some insight into MY tribe. BOTH are a chore to feed, THAT's for sure!

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  10. Wabi, That is what one of those clinicians who is a horse whisperish type said. He studied under Tom Dorance and those other savvy horse trainers. Personally, I think it is a load of poo because growing up my Shetland pony was all attitude and oneryness which was so very unlike my sweet personality. :D

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  11. If I am ever broody you better not stick my bottom in ice water or you'll have another thing coming! ;) Glad Dorkus figured it out.

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