Broody Hen

             I suspected the other day when I pulled Babette off the nest that she was going broody.  I collect the eggs regularly, and there was only one egg under her at the time but she's a Buff Orpington, and only about 7 months old.  This morning I noticed that only three hens came out of the henhouse so about lunchtime I go out and find Babette, seated squarely in the nest where she had been since last night!!

             To the isolation pen she went!  This of course is my first time dealing with a broody hen so it's a very new experience.  I go suspicious first when I noticed the large amount of feathers left in the nest and suspected they were dropping from her crop.  She is now completely bald there!  A few hours later I go to check on her and find the pen empty.  So I check the nest, and there she is!  Now I have her locked up in a wire cage as others say that so long as she can't sit comfortably a few days in the wire cage should break her broodiness.

            I wish I had some eggs to set under her but she's so young and I can't imagine what started it.  I hope she gets over this quickly.  I've been tickled to death by city folk who think hens wont lay eggs without a rooster around or wont get broody without a rooster around, etc.  Surprising they don't think of a woman's timing or moodiness...with or without a man around. 
            But my girls are the best!  I ran across some adorable saying the other day, "The rooster may rule the roost, but they don't call it a hen house for nothing!"  and "The Rooster does all the crowing but the hen delivers the egg"

            As for my portrait of the US solider holding the infant, I'm taking it slowly, plugging and unplugging my iron when the temperature gets too high or too low.  I will be SO grateful when I get to invest in a temperature controlled iron!

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