The Little Red Hen's Gone Broody

The littlest red hen wants to be a mama. Her heart is set on it.

Last week, while Dennis was out of town, I found she had been sitting in a nest all day, all night and the next morning. Gently I prodded her until she reluctantly hopped out. She had been sitting on 13 eggs, which I promptly gathered.

Every day she sat on the nest. Every day I prodded her out. The other hens were upset by her odd behavior and warning clucks. Their egg production slowed down.

Dennis came home and solved the problem Now the littlest red hen spends her days in a cage with her own food and water. The other hens seem to be back to normal.

Dennis lets her out at night, and guess where she goes? Not to the roost, of course.

Her urge to procreate is understandable in light of human behavior regarding fertility clinics and surrogate pregnancies. Sad to say, our little red hen can never become a mother because we don't have a rooster and none of the eggs are fertile. Still, she hopes.