setting hen
Definition
Noun: A domestic hen that is ready to brood, or sit on and incubate eggs.
Usage
This term specifically describes a female chicken in a physiological state where she has a strong instinct to sit on a clutch of eggs to keep them warm for hatching. It refers to her condition and behavior, not just her presence on a nest.
Examples
- Noun:
- We need a setting hen to hatch these fertilized eggs.
- The setting hen became very protective and rarely left the nest.
Advanced Usage
- "To go setting": An older or regional phrase describing a hen entering this broody state.
- That old Rhode Island Red has gone setting again.
Variants and Related Words
- Broody hen (n): A more common modern synonym for a setting hen.
- Brooder (n): A general term for a bird that broods; can also refer to a mechanical device for keeping chicks warm.
- Sitter (n): An informal term for a setting or broody hen.
Synonyms
- Broody hen: A hen exhibiting the instinct to incubate eggs.
- Brood hen: A hen that is breeding or incubating.
Related Phrases
- To sit on eggs: The action performed by a setting hen.
- The hen has been sitting on the eggs for two weeks.
- To go broody: To enter the state of being a setting hen.
- She will go broody every spring.
Noun
-
a domestic hen ready to brood
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