I decided to let broody hen #1 sit on a few eggs. A few days later, hen #2 goes broody also. There is 1 neat box and they have been sharing it. It is 18 inches off the ground, what a bad location! They have ejected 3 eggs in the past 2 days. One was not fertile, another had a partially developed chick and the 3rd was a fully developed chick ready to hatch. I candled 2 eggs still under Hen#1, 1 not fertile, and the other was developing but still had room in the egg. Hen #2 is on 3 more. These are young hens (Buff Brahma Bantums) and I don't think they know what they are doing. I think I will give them another day or 2 and if they have not hatched anything, they will be put off the nest. I will stick to my incubator in the future. Would you do anything different or do you have any advise?
Guess it comes down to personal preference. I don't own an incubator and really don't want one. I want broodies, and got breeds that are supposed to have some broodiness. So I would have a setup where the nest box is on the ground or can be moved onto the ground. Might separate a broody, have not decided; I did not the one time I had a broody hatching eggs, and it worked OK. Actually she was also in a high nest; I moved her and the chick that hatched as soon as it hatched, and they accepted the move.
