2 broody hens

[amythebooklady]

Prior to going on vacation 2 weeks ago I had a 5+year old hen go broody. She has successfully raised a clutch before, but it's been a few years. I figured I'd deal with it when I got back. I am back and she is still broody and it appears that there is a younger chicken who has gone broody too! They both are in the same next box all fluffed up, making cute little noises. They willingly let me take the eggs (no rooster here).

I can get fertilized eggs from a friend, but have a couple of questions:

They are in the coop, together in one of the two laying boxes(they are attached to the wall, up off the floor). Should I just put the eggs under them and leave them there? (they are able to move eggs from the other box, as there is a gap under the board that separates the nesting boxes). I do have another place I can put them. Should I move them there and keep them together, or create 2 separate places for them?

The last time this happened I moved the chicken successfully into a separate area for as long as it took.

Love to hear your thoughts....oh...and it was late in the summer the last time this happened so I'm not concerned about that.

 

[familyfarm1]

I would remove them to a different location. We had one pen area and two nesting boxes next to each other the time we hatched with two hens. Have fun hatching!

 

[Farmer Viola]

I would create two separate nests for the broodies, because a shared nest can often result in accidentally crushed eggs. She has to position herself very carefully in the nest, and two sets of feet make that harder to do. I would keep them in the same general area, where they can still see and hear each other. Maybe they can each have access to the same food/water/relief area. This is how I handled it when two of my hens went broody!

The day after their chicks hatched, I combined their two areas. I removed one nest, and made one big nest for them both. The two broodies happily combined, and the chicks mixed together, eventually regarding both hens as their moms. The broodies would sleep close together in the same nest with the chicks under and between them.

One broody did return to egg laying relatively quickly after the hatch (2 weeks). I think it was because she figured the other broody had it covered (she was more protective, aggressive).

 

[amythebooklady]

So the chicks are hatching! I discovered 3

last night when I went out to close them up for the night. This morning we have one more and each hen is still on their own nest with 2 eggs to go each. They are so cute!

 

[Farmer Viola]

So the chicks are hatching! I discovered 3

last night when I went out to close them up for the night. This morning we have one more and each hen is still on their own nest with 2 eggs to go each. They are so cute!

Hooray!

Congratulations! she looks very proud of her new baby

 

[loverofhatching]

So the chicks are hatching! I discovered 3

last night when I went out to close them up for the night. This morning we have one more and each hen is still on their own nest with 2 eggs to go each. They are so cute!

Congrats