A Rest From It All...

Brooding in a nest full of eggs must be pretty energy consuming and a great bore to a broody hen. While the rest of the flock are enjoying the day, eating corn scraps, a broody hen has to stay put in her nest and incubate her eggs.

Once in a while even I will catch Lemon dozing off with a nod to her head.

Now doesn't she look like such a dear. . .

Sometimes sharing the coop can be challenging with constant prying eyes and loud noisy neighbors. Lemon is a bit perturbed of this. 

Don't Spice and Lemon look like broody buddies! (Actually Spice is only visiting the nesting box to lay her egg, but she does give a great broody impression)

Every now and then, Lemon takes a break from it all. So she jumps down from the coop with a loud proud squawk, ruffles her feathers, and is a chicken on a mission to the feeders. After eating, she then enjoys dust bathing with the rest of the flock.
One of her favorite thing to do is perch in the new perch I put in the chicken enclosure. Lemon just enjoys sitting there and preening.

One time I let Lemon outside for a bit to enjoy the grass and bugs, she found great joy in perching on the lawn chairs as well.

Lemon decides to hop higher with a great big flap.

Taking a sunbath before heading back to the coop.

After she's done with all her business, Lemon returns to the coop. When she enters her nest, she murmurs softly to her eggs while gently maneuvering around the eggs until she is facing out of the box. Than she settles down with a shake of her body.

Here's a video of her settling into the nesting box:

Oh Dear Oh Dear Miss Lemon

I always love hearing the gentle grumblings of moody broody hens when I check for eggs in the coop. It's funny to see them poofed up in their dazed eyes.
Our silly White Leghorn hen, Lemon has been broody for a few days now, never abandoning her nest. So I decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to slip 5 mix-breed chicken eggs I got from Common Ground (3 blue eggs and 2 brown eggs) underneath her. She accepted the eggs and gently scooped them underneath herself when I was gone; I could her her moving around inside the nesting box.

The eggs I gave Lemon are over a week old so I I'm not sure if they are still be viable. So far, 1 blue egg ( an Easter Egger egg) and 2 brown eggs have nothing inside them; seems like they were infertile. I also accidentally cracked an egg that I thought had nothing inside. It turns out that there was an alive growing embryo! 
After that warning, I returned the last blue egg to broody Lemon who grumbled in complaint for disturbing her. I may go back next weekend to get some more fresher eggs, just in case this one doesn't hatch. 

Broody? Or Sham-broody?

Lemon has started acting weirdly lately.

Whenever I pay a visit to the ladies, Lemon seems to sulk and make deranged clucking noises. If I even move or come near her, she erupts in a hysteria of strange clucking; walking around fluffed up a bit in a wary mode.

She reminds me very much of broody Butter from my previous flock. When Butter was broody, she strutted around the whole chicken fence making the same clucking noises Lemon was, with feathers up and wing drooping low to the ground. She was a crazy broody but a good mother and I still miss her "crazy broody mode". She never bit me when I checked the eggs underneath her, only made complaints.

Here she is, a bit upset since I locked her out of the coop.

(Butter is actually growling at the camera, not me)

I dismissed the fact the Lemon could be broody. It simply wasn't very likely in Leghorns since they were bred for egg production, and most of their broodiness was probably bred out of the breed.

But Lemon still continued to make weird clucking noises and strut around day on and day out. At dusk when the flock went to roost, and I to close the coop door.....Lemon still glared at me, ruffling up her feathers with a disgruntled expression. Charcoal, Spice, and Lime softly clucked to reassure her.

 I locked the door and whispered goodnight to the chickens.

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One day, I looked outside and didn't see Lemon. Where could she have gone?

She wasn't in the outside nesting box.

 Nor the old doghouse where the ladies held their secret meetings.

So finally I checked the coop, and snugly fitted inside one of the nesting boxes was Lemon. She grumbled at me and raised her hackles.

I left her alone and wondered.
Lemon could be broody, but I would give her a few more days and see. I know that a lot of hens get "broody" (or sham-broody)only to walk off their nest after two or three days of boredom in the coop.

Being broody does have its high points, and I was planning on incubating some eggs from Common Ground.

But who knows, does Lemon have the determination to brood a nest full of eggs?
In the meanwhile, the rest of the chickens are still going only their daily lives, tilling the earth and searching for worms while Lemon lies bedridden in the coop; full of broodiness.

Fruitful Summer

The wild blackberries in my backyard have finally ripened in to a dark maroon hue. Knowing how much the chickens love fruit I shared the bounty with them.

Some of the berries are ready to be picked.

It's funny to see the reactions of the chickens as I walk to the door. 

First they crowd the entrance, with Charcoal sticking out her head once in a while trying to get a bite first.

As soon as Lemon gets a piece, everyone centers their attention on her and the chase begins. But since the blackberries are so small, Lemon simply gulps it down in one bite. I think that the rest of the flock seems a bit disappointed. I've noticed that since they were chicks, the food chase was kind of like a game. When one chick finds a bug or fruit, they have the choice to eat it in secrecy, but sometimes instead she will emit a small short chirping sound and run toward the flock. The other chicks will catch sight of the tasty treat and run to steal tiny morsel from the finder. Lasting in a second long chase.

When nothing is left, they stare expectantly, looking for moooooore treats. Mrs.Wattlecomb (Lemon) gives me a piercing glare of disgust and with a shake of her head she struts away.

Eventually thee others  lose interest and they too, walk away to get a drink of water. The exception is Charcoal, who's always looking for a lap to sit in. Well not today Charcoal, try again tomorrow.