Poor Will's Almanack: February 25 – March 2, 2020

Now it is possible that some listeners do not know about broody hens, and since this is clearly the month of the Broody Hen Moon, it may be helpful to discuss the subject here in the Almanack. So anyway, what IS a broody hen. A broody person may be thoughtful and unhappy, moody and melancholy. But in Chicken World, Well, a broody hen is one that doesn’t want to give up her eggs. She wants them to hatch. That would seem reasonable, and if a rooster is about, and if the owner wants chicks, the broody hen can be a blessing. But most chicken owners, I am told, want to eat or sell the eggs and the broody hen does not want to let them do such a thing. She may scream and squawk and try to bite when the owner attempts to take the eggs, and the hen will not leave them except maybe once a day to eat and drink and relieve herself. If you don’t own chickens, this information may seem of little account. On the other hand, the end of February often brings on Broody Girl or Broody Boy syndrome, the