The Funny Farm: Poultry Parenthood

If you’ve got broody hens then you’re probably like me and see chick season as the highlight of the year. I still marvel at seeing a living, breathing creature emerge from what might have been my breakfast under other circumstances. And as they grow, those little chonks are absolutely adorable. My hens are attentive and I love watching how they raise their brood, teaching them how to chicken.

The following are stories of poultry parents – mostly hens, but also a story about a rooster and a turkey hen thrown in for good measure.

This is Mardge. She is absolutely insane and scary. She has been broody for two years. She has abandoned two nests and will sit on absolute nothing forever. We gave her another chance with four eggs. I can’t get a picture when she doesn’t have them tucked under her but I’m working on it. Mardge is on a chair in our front porch where we can keep an eye on her. The cats and dogs are afraid of her and come to the back porch – Unknown

Not a single thought in that brain besides wanting to be broody. I collect the eggs daily but she continues to sit on NOTHING. – Gulf Coast Cluckers

In tales of other animals that don’t like extreme weather, this is Audria, my part-time house chicken. Basically every year before either an extreme cold or hot spell Audria decides she is going to be broody. She will sit on eggs that are never fertilized for four or five months until we give in and give her some sort of baby. The start is always shortly before a cold or hot spell though so we always have to bring her inside because she will 100% refuse to leave her eggs to eat or drink.

Once inside no amount of bothering her will make her forget she is broody. She will eat and drink well if it is provided while she sits on her eggs. Then, once every day or two she will get up, scream the loudest series of screams anyone has ever heard (seriously people will run upstairs thinking something is wrong), take a poop larger than any chicken egg, and then look for bunnies to chase. After she finishes that series of activities she goes back to her eggs and continues to sit there.

We are dealing with one of these broody hen times right now so she’s inside enjoying her nest-side service while she incubates eggs that I’m fairly certain are rotten. She’s very attentive to them though, so at least there’s that. Apparently this is a weird life to live. Or so I’ve been told. – The Pipsqueakery

My turkey hatched and raised two roosters. They still ride on her back and sleep under her wings, and they’re full grown men. – Anonymous

This chicken didn’t have two brain cells to rub together. Literally no one likes Pearl. She’s constantly a nuisance, always in the neighbour’s yard, hides her eggs anywhere I don’t think to look. All 12 that she lays in a year. Loud, flighty, and then she decided to go broody. I couldn’t imagine this working. How could she take care of other chickens, she can barely survive without my supervision, but here we are. I took the chicks like a champ. Dedicated to making sure they know I’m safe and won’t keep them from me. She protects them in bad weather, tries to puff up at the rest of the flock. They just ignore her, but she’s trying. She’s teaching them well and I have no idea where these survival skills came from. She was even willing to adopt my four orphan chicks with zero hesitation. This girl is moving up on the favourites list and can go broody any time she wants. – Kristen Freeman

Our beautiful lonely house chicken went broody. We did everything, and I mean everything, to break her of it. At the end of the day she just wanted to be a mamma. I felt in my heart it’s what she needed to thrive. So one evening, when darkness set in, I carefully swapped two eggs and replaced them with some foster babies. It turned out to be the most beautiful and wonderful thing in the world. I’ve never seen her so happy, and she’s turned into the most incredible mommy. She never even noticed they are a completely new breed.

It’s been two weeks now and everyone is doing amazingly! Call me crazy, but the moment she accepted them as her own and clucked in happiness, I wept like a baby. My heart just knew it was what she needed. I’m so relieved this story had a perfect ending. – Yasma Yulita

I went to close the coop and found my rooster staying outside to take care of one of my chicks that didn’t know how to get back inside. I’ve never had a rooster take care of a chick before. (Yes, he is missing an eye. He’s a very protective rooster that has defended my flock in the past and lost it). – Link John