Ixworths aren’t renowned as broodies, but middle hen has decided to have a go. She’s occupying one of the spacious nestboxes, and she’s been there for about two weeks now.
At first, we left her to it on the assumption that she’d probably get fed up and wander off. But after two weeks, we must assume that she’s serious. So perhaps, in a week or so, we’ll be seeing some more chicks. I’ve got a miniature coop lined up which will go inside the main run to protect the chicks from the cock and the other hens.
We’ve no idea, though, how many eggs she’s sitting on. She’ll growl at you if you approach too closely, and peck you if you attempt to touch her.
I know that you can “break” a hen of being broody by cooling her undersides, usually by putting her on a wire mesh platform. But I’m not in favour of interfering with nature unnecessarily, and no doubt she’s quite happy sitting there, dreaming little chicken dreams about her new chicks.
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