So with the summer heat came the summer broodiness of the hens. A hen goes broody when she decides to hatch out a clutch of eggs. A hen has to sit about 3 weeks to hatch her eggs, becoming in effect an incubator. Just like humans, mothers have to do crazy things, so thier minds get pumped full of crazy hormones (by the way my wife is pregnant). They hog nests, steal eggs, and when they get really broody, peck your hand with reckless abandon when you try to gather eggs. This is the broodiest hen we have - always going broody and she's a mean as an itchy rattlesnake. In fact, that is her new name - Rattlesnake
To snap hens out of being broody, we place them in solitary confinement without food, water or a nest for a couple of days in a pen we have. Their in the shade, and it doesn't hurt them long term. Without isolating the broodiness out of the hen, they'll cause squabbles, cracked eggs, and busted eggs for up to a month. I brought rattlesnake up to isolate her, changed my mind and made her a quick nest and placed four eggs under her. She hatched one today. 
Cheep Cheep!
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