<p align="center"><em>by Chicken Wrangler Sara</em></p>
Periodically one or more of our hens goes broody.  This means she sits on her eggs with the intent of hatching them.

Usually I just reach under her and grab the eggs, explaining that I feed them, they feed me. Their response is then to peck at my hand.

Rachel is a little harsher.  She will pick the hens up and toss them out of the nest box then collects the eggs.

Currently, Rachel and Beekeeper Brian have decided we should let the hens sit on the eggs until they hatch. This is fine with me – less pecking on my hands.

Apparently this particular clutch of eggs requires more than one hen.  Today there were three sitting on the eggs making it a group effort.

<a href="http://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/broody-hens.png"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4387" alt="broody hens" src="http://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/broody-hens.png?w=300" width="300" height="169" /></a>

One of our bantam hens is sitting on eggs also.

Sometimes I find an egg that has been pushed out from under the hens.  I’ve learned that frequently this is a <em>bad egg</em> Having cracked one open in the house, I discovered the unpleasant and lingering smell of rotten egg.

Now I crack the outcast eggs outside to see if it is a good or bad egg.

In other news, we are hoping to get a replacement rooster for Elliot.  I’ll keep you posted.