the entire flock is sitting on the eggs

[backyardwitches]

we have 4 hens, one went broody, we got her fertile eggs to sit on in one of the nests, all was normal, the others continued to deposit their eggs under the broody but I kept taking the new ones out.. they will lay their egg and get out. 3 days to the due date and all the hens are gone crazy, 3 of them has occupied the nest and refuse to move, the 4th, who usually steps in when the mama goes out to eat (she actually goes in and sits the eggs for about an hour every day) is outside singing the egg song all morning.

I tried to kick out the 2 extra hens from the nest because the mama was pushed in the corner (she is the smallest) and her eggs were all taken.. the one who has stolen all the eggs also seems to be losing feathers from her chest.. she didn't puff up, when I pushed her out, but just went right back in..

I understand they are probably all exited but I am a little worried about the chicks. After reading a lot of posts here and some advise from my grandmother I decided to leave them and mama hen on their own devices and I am happy everyone is taking such a good care of the eggs but after reading about hens fighting over the chicks and killing chicks I am not so sure if so much attention is all good. They are free range all day, so it's not like they can possibly be there out of boredom. Also no one came for treats when I called today..

Have you had that situation and do you think the chicks might be in danger from mad hens fighting over them?

 

[lightchick]

Is there any way to put a fence/door on the nest box? I'm sure the mother id getting stressed about this intrusion. I'd try and separate them.

 

[soydo]

Would strongly suggest blocking the other three from going into that nest AT ALL. You can let them settle into another nest box but in any way that hen and her eggs need to be protected pronto! Putting a wire. door, something like the other said is an excellent suggestion. If do-able, get a piece of hard ware cloth large enough to block that nest and drill or tie it to make it secure.

Three days is not enough time for the hormones to cause changes in a hen, getting her 'ready' for Mother Mode. The original setter is more than 'ready' to be a mother.. the others hard to tell but with only three days.... probably not.

Setters not 'ready' can be inclined to attack them thinking they are invaders instead of potential babies.

Also more than one- you are much more likely to have trampling issues. Too many feet and bodies and this or that hen wanting to do something and so on... also realize, that eggs with holes are normally very tempting targets except for a normal hen with her hormones all ready for babies.. so that setter might not be inclined to do a taste test but the other three probably are going to give a taste test....

All that and other things is why you hear of horror stories... but in future it really is best to have a broody's nest isolated from ALL other hens if possible. Otherwise that's a fair bit of bothering with her(they can take it if they are not a 'fighter' though) and high risk of trampling or going back to wrong nest...

 

[backyardwitches]

thank you! I got other two out of the nests and close them out, but at some point they will have to need a place to lay eggs and usually they are not happy with the one that has been separated from the group. I don't want then attacking the mother hen and the babies

 

[backyardwitches]

by the way when I went to get the one extra hen out of the nest (the other one has left) there was no eggs under her, all the eggs were under their moms, like I left them in the morning. The other two were outside but kept close by.. could they just be providing support?

 

[soydo]

Don't worry about where the others will lay their eggs for a couple days. Think of it as an egg hunt.

yeah sometimes hens are mean to a mother hen- it's all about her sounding and behaving so different.. they don't like breaks in their daily routines very much. As long as the others are not beating on the mother too much, they should get used to her and largely ignore her if they all have plenty of room.

Sometimes a mother hen will become flat out protective and will make the other hens back off....

A popular thing is to have a separate pen for a new mother and her babies until they are old enough to merge again.

 

[backyardwitches]

Update. All the hens have been locked out, but my rooster hen(Maggie) was extremely worried, and was nervously circling the coop a couple of times so I let her in, she checked on her sister and went around with her normal day.. she usually spends an hour with the eggs every morning, so I guess she just wanted to make sure their mom has not left them alone.
the next day Tira (not broody) was very distressed because she couldn't find her way to the nesting boxes and she was holding that egg since yesterday, I suspect, so I let her in, she was in and out in about 2 minutes. I am not letting the broody-wanna-be in the nesting boxes.. she got a cold bath twice and she is acting normal but I don't want to tempt her..
Trying not to bother their mom I just had a peek under her wing to get the extra egg and and saw one of them had a tiny crack from the inside, it's so exiting.. i listened for a while but didn't hear any peeping. Tomorrow is the 21st day!

 

[soydo]

Congrats! They don't like to break old habits that's for sure. Now that the eggs are starting to crack, it's a REALLY good idea not to let any other hens in no matter how 'agitated' they get. The chances of them accidentally breaking the other eggs is now very high. Not worth it and they will have full access again in two days anyways.

 

[backyardwitches]

the first baby is out!!
The mama has not moved from the nest for 2 days. Should I be worried?

 

[soydo]

Should have mentioned taking the hen out once daily for breaks..

Some will advise against this; if you are able to lift the hen without her fighting you can take her out of the nest for a bathroom and food/water break. She may want to get back in immediately, however don't let her back in until she has pooped at the very least. Otherwise she may let it go in the nest. Yuck.

Take out the chick and give it back once she has totally settled down on eggs.