This hen has gone broody. It means she is going to stay on this clutch of eggs and not move until she hatches out baby chicks. See the glazed fixed expression in her eyes? Nothing will force her off her brood. Going broody should be a natural part of most hens’ lives. Unfortunately, hens not going broody stop laying eggs for at least three weeks and often longer as she nurtures her new chicks. Most large egg productions would shut down if all their hens decided to go broody in spring, so that God-given trait has been selectively bred...

It’s spring! Have any of your laying hens gone broody? Broody means that they are going to stay on their nests and hatch out some chicks. I hope you have a rooster, as it’s the one time he’s an essential part of the equation. Your hen needs some fertilized eggs. Did you know that if your rooster were to succumb to a predator that your hens would be able to continue to produce fertile eggs for up to one month? It’s because the hen has “sperm nest” areas located in her oviduct that collects and stores semen for later...

I am still talking about chickens! There are over 60 recognized true breeds of chickens worldwide, not including countless hybrids and crosses. One of my favorite kinds has a connection to an old movie, The Egg and I, a great tale of romance on a poultry farm. Fred McMurray raised Speckled Sussex in the movie and at the time of the film, they were considered a tremendous dual-prupose egg layer for large productions. That was before Leghorns hit the scence and the Sussex fell out of favor. They were on the endangered conservancy list, and when I first started...