Broody had broken an egg with a chick.....

[chicmom]

The chick was almost ready to hatch, and I came home to find the egg really cracked up, and a leg sticking out. The chick was dead. The egg was bloody. All the other eggs are fine and in the nest.

I don't know what to think! Did they accidentally (there are two broodies--very peaceful hens) break the egg and then get curious with all the blood, or did they do this on purpose and should I take all the eggs and put them in the incubator?

What would you all do?

Sharon

 

[Bullitt]

If they break another egg, then you might think about an incubator. It could have been that the egg was accidentally broken when the hen was trying to turn the egg. After she accidentally broke the egg, she then may have started pecking at it. It is difficult to say, though.

 

[they'reHISchickens]

We tried two broodies together last summer. It was total disaster. It turned out they were actually fighting for the eggs when we weren't looking and in the process, all were eventually broken. We will never again allow two broodies together.

 

[sourland]

We tried two broodies together last summer. It was total disaster. It turned out they were actually fighting for the eggs when we weren't looking and in the process, all were eventually broken. We will never again allow two broodies together.

Most of my experiences with multiple hens setting in the same nest have been similar.

 

[chicmom]

Well I just read your posts, and I suppose I could separate them with an equal amount of eggs, but today I saw two little fuzzy heads pop out between the broodies, so I think I'll just let them be.....