Moody Broody

Squishy (the all white chicken that almost got squished as a chick) has decided that she is going to hatch some eggs whether we like it or not. She made her first nest in a box in the barn/shed (the 'hidden nest #1' photo from a few weeks ago) and even though we took all the eggs away, she was determined to sit in it. I moved the box to the ground and blocked it...she made a new nest behind it, complete with chest feathers that she'd pulled out (and no eggs) crammed against the wall. When I'd take her out of the barn and block the door, she would quickly eat and drink then run back to the barn making a screeching noise, jump over the barrier and go back into her corner. She tried to sleep in there at night, and even though we locked her in the coop, she was right back to her corner in the morning when let out. I decided to let her do what nature was clearly wanting her to do; I made her a new nest in a more appropriate dog kennel away from the other chickens and put 6 eggs under her. I locked her in the dog crate for the first day so that she didn't try to get to her old nest and today she is happy to stay in there, even with the door open. She has some food and water in there but she doesn't seem to want to leave the nest for even a second. In a week I'll shine a light through the eggs (called "candling" them) to see if the embryo is growing (and to see whether Zebra Head has been doing his job!).