Broody hen(s) killing other hen's babies

[hd_darcy]

Typically I have let the babies stay in the coop, and they are just fine. This time I have two broodies sitting on eggs (which I could careless if they hatch), and I'm pretty certain they are killing my other hens' babies! I wasn't sure who was doing it, but yesterday I caught two of them chasing babies.

My question is, would it help if I removed the eggs they were sitting on. They have been sitting what-seems forever. I'm pretty sure that the eggs they are on are probably no-go's. They have hatched a couple, but I have put those in with my other mama hens. They have their own seperate space in the coop, but were free to leave the space. So now we have it so the babies can't leave the space at night. During the day we let them out to free range w/ the mamas.

If I remove the eggs from my broodies, would it be possible they would snap out of their meanness and leave the babies alone??? Or would that make them more upset? I'm clueless!

Thank you in advance!

 

[1muttsfan]

This is why some of us feel that it is best to separate broodies from the flock until they are done hatching - most of the time things are fine, but it is hard to deal with the consequences when things go wrong. You may want to take the two, separate them into two different pens or cages with the chicks or eggs they have left, and see if any more hatch. Good luck.