'Thrilled to Be a Mom at Last': Hen Given Real Chicks After Trying to Hatch Ceramic Eggs

A broody hen with no rooster on her farm had her “life’s dream come true” when her owner bought her four young chicks to mother after the hen had been trying to hatch ceramic eggs, her owner said.

Trish McMillan, an animal trainer with a farm in Mars Hill, North Carolina, said the two-year-old hen is named Ethel.

“Ethel is the only one of my eight adult hens who gets broody and wants to sit on eggs,” McMillan told Storyful. “It’s a problem as she barely eats or drinks, stops laying eggs, and guards the nest box from the other hens.”

“This year, I decided it was time. I don’t have a rooster, so I bought her four chicks from the farm supply store,” she said. “I let her sit on the eggs for about three weeks, and played chick sounds just before I was ready to bring the babies home. Ethel is thrilled to be a mom at last.” Credit: Trish McMillan via Storyful