Two broody hens?

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

My experience with broodies has been limited to two different experiences with 1 terrible broody who hatched eggs but wouldn’t raise babies.

Two of my young hens just went broody. The younger hen, Garrison, is daughter of the above terrible broody. I’m a little leery about how good of a broody she’ll be if genetics are involved. She’s 7 months old and a mix of mostly Wyandotte and orpington. She’s been threatening broodiness for a few months now- but only just committed when the other hen went broody.

My other hen, Goose, is a 13 month old Wyandotte. She just up and went broody one day and it immediately stuck. She’s the one I have more faith in to raise chicks.

Initially, it didn’t seem Garrison’s broodiness would stick. So I planned to just give Goose some eggs. I gave her 4 on Monday, which is also the day Garrison decided she was in fact definitely going to be broody. So now I’m trying to make some decisions about how I want to move forward. I’d prefer for the hens to break their broodiness naturally as opposed to using a broody breaker.

So… if I don’t give Garri eggs. will her broodiness break when Goose’s chicks hatch? Which she try to take Goose’s chicks?

Or should I give Garri some eggs of her own? If I give her eggs, then I feel like they should hatch at the same time. This would mean moving Goose’s eggs to the incubator and giving each hen a few new eggs.

I’ve read lots of posts and blogs where people show hens raising chicks together. Is this what usually happens with dual broodies? Or is it more often that they fight over chicks and that just doesn’t get shown on the internet as much?

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi,

We raise silkies here and always have a couple of broody hens.

These days, I break them of it, but in the past I didn't and let them hatch. Sometimes they'll make their own nest of eggs and I'd mark them so in case another hen would lay any in her nest after she's started to sit on them.

You can give one hen any hens eggs as long as they fit well. Our silkies can sit on 8-10 which most hens can, some even more but I'd start a bit smaller.

Broodiness lasts about 3 weeks whether they are sitting on eggs or sitting on nothing.

I have pulled all the eggs and kept them in the basement where it's cooler, and then take about 10 and sit them one at a time in front of the hen and she'll pull them under her.

 

[Fluster Cluck Acres]

Hi,

We raise silkies here and always have a couple of broody hens.

These days, I break them of it, but in the past I didn't and let them hatch. Sometimes they'll make their own nest of eggs and I'd mark them so in case another hen would lay any in her nest after she's started to sit on them.

You can give one hen any hens eggs as long as they fit well. Our silkies can sit on 8-10 which most hens can, some even more but I'd start a bit smaller.

Broodiness lasts about 3 weeks whether they are sitting on eggs or sitting on nothing.

I have pulled all the eggs and kept them in the basement where it's cooler, and then take about 10 and sit them one at a time in front of the hen and she'll pull them under her.

Thanks for your response. Did you ever have multiple broodies at one time? If so, did they raise chicks together or fight over chicks? I’ve heard silkies are usually really good mamas.

 

[Chicken_tiger_catt]

I have a distant memory of a farm my grandma used to own, before she had to move back into town. If I remember correctly, she once had two broody hens, and she put them in a pen together. They kept to themselves, but she had to take out one of the chicks, because it hatched late and was being picked on by its mother.