2 broody hens in my coop

[superflyer]

hi there once again

i know i have one broody hen sitting on eggs now it been about 4-5 days now.(candling them soon) come to find out there more in there then the last time i looked
so my ? to you is (me not marking the eggs) how long do i wait to remove the un hatch eggs

now my 2 ?

i my have 2 broody hens. she been playing around about being broody or not for a couple days now

but haven 2 broodys in the same coop ok
i would like them to stay in the coop

 

[ChickenCanoe]

They should be fine together.
Hens always volunteer eggs to a broody nest.
Mark the eggs that are under the first hen. Then mark eggs with today's date you are putting under the second setter.
When you candle the first, return the ones that seem more advanced and put the rest under the second hen.
Just make sure you have them all marked, probably with 3 dates. Use pencil if they're not real dark eggs. Use a black sharpie if they're dark shells.
For the rest of the time remove unmarked eggs daily.

 

[Memeschix]

A few weeks ago one of my Australorps went broody, and she was sitting on 13 eggs, I had written dates on. My husband insisted that if I touch her eggs, she would not sit on them. This was her first time to go broody and she would get curious as to what was going on outside the coop and would leave the eggs for hours. Needless to say it was during a cold spell and

 

[Memeschix]

The eggs got really cold. I ended up taking the eggs away. Is this normal?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

A true broody (with experience) won't stay off the nest long enough to damage the eggs. Touching them won't be an issue.

For the OP, something I forgot is when there are 2 broodies in the same building, they tend to steal each other's eggs.

 

[Memeschix]

Thanks CC for the reply. It's all a learning experience!

 

[superflyer]

hi there im a first timer raising chicks with the a hen

dose the hen know when to leave the nest box with her chicks to eat and drink as far as i know she has not left the nest sence they started to hatch and the chick had no food or water so far


thank you for taking the time to look at my post

p.s. have 4 chick so far

and more to come i hope

and have 4 more sitting on eggs

 

[ChickenCanoe]

The hen knows what to do. Just make sure there is chick starter and water in an appropriately sized container when she does take them out.
They don't have to eat or drink for the first couple days. That's nature's way of allowing the hen to sit tight waiting for the late bloomers. A hen won't leave as long as more chicks are imminent. That's a broody equivalent of lockdown.

 

[superflyer]

will the cicks be ok if i leave them in the coop with mommy if the other hens are picking on the chicks
sorry all new to this
i would like them to stay there all because i have more broody hens in the coop

 

[ChickenCanoe]

They'll be fine. The setter won't let the other hens hurt them.
You'll have to provide a starter/grower feed to the whole flock. No layer feed at all.