Broody Blanca

Blanca's gone broody on us. Her suspicious behavior - sitting on the nest for many hours a day, puffing up her feathers to promote body heat, aimlessly wandering around the yard making the laying sound, and squaking a fierce squak when nudged off the nest - are classic signs of broodiness.

Going broody is natural and not necessarily a bad trait. If we had a rooster and thus fertilized eggs, the girls would need to go broody and incubate their unborn chicks. But, we have no such situation.

The internet offers many suggestions on how to break a broody hen - lock her in a wire dog crate alone for four days, place a handful of ice under her when she nests - but such tactics to break a female's natural mothering instincts seem wrong and cruel.

If it's okay with my Compound mates, I suggest we let Blanca do her thing and hope she works out her issues somehow.