Some of the trees are just beginning to color up for Autumn - my favorite time of the year. It doesn't seem that we've had much of a summer - the weather has been so humid, which is not typical of Michigan. Generally we have a few hot and humid weeks, but this year its been unbearable!
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| Borrowed Photo - Cute, eh? |
One of my hens went broody in July, and at first I thought she might be a bit under the weather - she would just sit in the nest box and was non-producing. No eggs, just sitting there. I would put her outside, she'd eat a few bites, then chase the other hens around for a while. Again I would find her indoors, just sitting. I have generally selected breeds that do NOT get broody - I want eggs, not chicks. I have no roosters. But this girl started sitting on STONES - Peach Pits - ANYTHING she thought she could hatch! When I noticed that, well, I figured I needed to stop it right then and there! She was not ill - she was BROODY!
I got a large airy cage prepared for her and placed it up off the ground, then placed her inside of it with food and water. She was ANGRY! She kept running around inside of it, hackles raised, tail feathers standing at attention - nothing would calm her down. So, I let her be. She had protection from the weather when she needed it, and clean food and water every day, twice a day.
She remained in the cage for 1 1/2 weeks, and after I let her out of Chicken Prison, she was COOL, calm, and collected! Raising of the cage reduces the hens' body heat. Isolating her in an open area helps her change her mind set and get it away from being in seclusion. It worked very well; she was just fine and started laying again in another 2 weeks.
Happy Fall, y'all!
the ChickenWrangler
