Feeding Runaround Sue the broody hen 2x a day and foam square on clutch to keep it warm

**Our Take: When Motherhood Turns Into a Hunger Strike – The Runaround Sue Saga**

There’s something both heartwarming and a little maddening about a broody hen who takes her job so seriously she forgets to eat. That’s the story of Runaround Sue, the Buff Orpington who’s basically the avian equivalent of a sleep-deprived new parent—except her babies aren’t even born yet. The Reddit post from u/SuperDuperHost lays it all out: a hen so committed to keeping her eggs warm that she’ll ignore food, water, and basic self-care, leaving her caretaker to play the role of interventionist. It’s a tale that will feel painfully familiar to anyone who’s ever coaxed a stubborn hen off a nest, and it raises a question that clucks at the back of every chicken keeper’s mind: how do we honor their maternal instincts without letting them starve themselves? This isn’t just a how-to—it’s a love letter to the absurd, tender, slightly unhinged world of dedicated broodies, and we’ve seen the sequel play out in Mama hen teaches hours-old chick how to eat pellets and grit, where Sue proves her dedication pays off.

Let’s talk about that keel bone. For the uninitiated, a prominent keel means a hen is burning through her body’s fat reserves faster than a toddler through a bag of candy. Sue’s owner noticed the weight loss and bumped her off the nest twice a day instead of once, which is the kind of small-but-critical adjustment that separates experienced keepers from newbies. It’s also a reminder that even the most “natural” behavior—brooding—can tip into self-destructive territory when a hen is too stubborn to budge. The solution here is delightfully hands-on: pull her off, plonk her by the feeder, and stick a foam square on the eggs to keep them toasty. That foam square is pure genius, by the way—a low-tech fix that screams, “I respect your instincts, but also, please don’t die.” It’s the kind of pragmatic creativity that makes chicken keeping feel less like farming and more like a very specific form of chaotic problem-solving.

What really stands out is the timing. Sue’s owner avoids pulling her off during the cool moments after sunrise and before sunset, because a hen worrying about cold eggs is a hen who’ll rush back without eating. That’s not just a tip—it’s a philosophy. It acknowledges that a broody hen’s brain is basically a single-track album called “Keep the Eggs Warm” on infinite loop. You have to work with that obsession, not against it. And the 15-minute timer? That’s the telltale sign of someone who’s been burned before—literally, by forgetting the foam and returning to a chilly clutch. We’ve all been there. The timer is a small act of love, a nod to how easily our own distractions can mess with a hen’s fragile trust.

This whole saga matters because it demonstrates that managing a broody hen isn’t about overriding her nature—it’s about gently nudging it. Sue isn’t a robot; she’s a mother with a job, and her owner treats her like a partner in the process. The foam square, the twice-daily meals, the careful timing—they’re all ways of saying, “I see you, I respect your hustle, but let’s keep you alive long enough to see those chicks hatch.” And that’s the deeper lesson here: successful chicken keeping is a dance between intervention and letting go. We can’t force a hen to chill out, but we can create the conditions for her to choose self-care. The ultimate test will come in a few weeks, when Sue’s chicks either pip or don’t. If they do, we’ll know the foam square worked. If they don’t? Well, the community will be there to troubleshoot again—because that’s what this feathered, slightly ridiculous world is all about. So here’s the question worth watching: how far are we willing to go to support a hen’s single-minded drive to be a mom? And more importantly, are we brave enough to admit we’re all a little bit Runaround Sue—dedicated, stubborn, and in desperate need of someone to remind us to eat?