A broody hen will stubbornly remain in her nest and try to appear intimidating.

So- you go out one evening to put your birds to bed. You look in and do a head count, make certain your fan is on against the summer heat, and suddenly you notice Molly is not on the roost as usual.

Panic sets in- you heard there was a raccoon attack down at the Miller house, but your Molly was here all day. You saw her on the nest when you collected eggs at noon. You quickly look around the coop before tearing out into the dusk to search for her with a flashlight...and see her placidly looking up at you from the very nest you saw her in earlier.

Sigh. So- you reach in to pick up your normally meek lap-dog of a hen- and she shrieks at you like a harpy from the netherworlds, attempting to sever your fingers with an evil hiss. Okay. We'll just see how she feels after a night of sleep, right? It's hot out, and Kansas has given us the usual torrential downpour followed by excruciating heat, so who wouldn't be cranky? She must be warm, as you notice she's plucked her breast feathers out...

Morning comes. You go to let out your flock, expecting to see them all come rushing out like clowns from a little car, when you notice your grumpy Gus from last night hasn't joined the parade. Peeking in, you see she's still sitting in the nest with that contemptuous look. Frustrated, you pluck her from her nest (keeping your nubs safe from seething, pecking, glassy-eyed wraithe) and dump her in front of the food and water with her pals. Lovely Molly struts to and fro making an awful buk-buk-bawk noise when others approach- and she's ignoring her favorite friend Luna! Her tail is as big as a turkey's, and she's got this glazed look in her eye...What gives? What's with the man-eating zombie-chicken? Is she sick?

Molly wants to be a mommy.

Once hatched, she'll keep herself in defense of her chicks.

In nature, birds lay a limited number of eggs, generally whatever is the appropriate number for them to protect and feed. Then the mother sits on them to keep them a consistent temperature, incubating them for the required time. For chickens, this is a 21 day process- but broody hens will often sit until they have chicks one way or another. In the most common breeds of chicken, broodiness has been bred out by selection. Breeders choose to incubate and continue breeding offspring of the birds who don't often go broody, in order to lengthen the laying season and increase the overall number of eggs produced. Some breeds, like Cochins and Silkies, are notorious for being broody as often as not. One can only expect eggs from these birds for a couple of months before the process begins again and the hen sits until she hatches chicks.

A broody hen will show her chicks how to find food.

When one has hens go broody without a rooster available, there are a few options available to help a girl out, since her own eggs are infertile and won't ever hatch. One option is to order from a hatchery or locally acquire fertile eggs. This is a great opportunity to get that elusive breed that isn't carried by anyone near you. Many breeds are available through various egg auction sites, including ebay, and they'll arrive via mail in just days!

Another option is to wait her out, but this can be brutal, as a broody will only leave her nest long enough to eat and drink once daily, so it's at the expense of her health over the course of a month or more to wait for hormones to fade. Keeping food and water near her will encourage her to consume enough to maintain her health. Some experienced chickeners swear by the process of putting the hen in a wire-bottomed cage without bedding and withholding food and water for 24 hours. After returning food and water to the hen, two more days in the cage ought to have eliminated the desire to brood. Supposedly, this is due to the inability to keep her breast warm.

If you have had a prolonged broodiness and are concerned about your girl's health, you can buy day-old chicks locally or via the mail and put them under her at night in a dark coop. She'll take them as her own and raise them up, but supervision is important in the morning to see how the flock responds.

Once your broody hatches her chicks out, you can find homes for them via word-of-mouth and various chicken forums. It's important to remember that the chicks should not eat layer feed, as the calcium level is too high for immature chicks and the protein levels too low. Because you now have a mixed-age flock, a flock-builder feed is the best option. Supplement the calcium of the laying birds with a bowl of crushed oyster shell from which they can choose freely. This is so no risks are taken with thin eggshells, as that can become life-threatening for hens. Keep an eye on Mama and the chicks to be certain she can manage and protect them, as she may need to be isolated from the rest of the flock until the babies are a bit older.

Congrats on the grandkids!