I thought about what a wise friend said about chickens and decided to do some sleuthing. She mentioned that chickens are not noted for their brains, though in the case of Ninja, she does have a great deal of cunning. So with her being broody, I had to adjust how to think about the problem.
I was giving Ninja too much credit and not enough credit at all. When Ninja came out for brunch today I decided to just stand still at the back door and watch her. She chowed down like a starving hyena, gave herself a nice dust bath, ran like wild dogs were after her to the water dish, and then -- wait for it -- disappeared into the spider plants we have all along our back wall. Watching her go in, I could distinctly see the little tunnel she has created.
Interestingly, we had been looking along that area, but the mistake was thinking she would choose to be closer to the wall. And admittedly, the spider plants form such a dense thicket it is impossible for the human eye to see through them. Now, I'm not making the rookie mistake of disturbing her (for the third time) on her nest -- even though, in my defense, the second time was an accident. So, the plan is to wait until she's scarfing down the delectable veggies and chicken feed brunch menu tomorrow, sneak over to the spider plants, and do a thorough search for what must be now about 20 or so eggs. If it works, it might shake her out of the broody blues and get her happily tearing up my garden in search of insects and other goodies.
Of course, it's only a matter of time before she does this all over again and we will be searching for a new nest. Last I looked, they didn't have any books written for chickens on how babies are made, so the hope that she will realize her attentiveness is pointless. I'm just relieved that, so far at least, she is still choosing to opt for the relative safety of our yard.
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