broody hens hatch question...

[sunnyday1]

Help
I had two BO's go broody at the same time...they are each sitting on 3 eggs in a little coop separate from the other hens. The chicks have started piping and one is hatched. I just read that it is a bad idea to keep two new mama hens together b/c they will kill the others chicks! Yikes...what should I do? Put all the eggs/chicks under one hen, or will they be ok?

Thanks for any quick replies!!

Michelle

 

[Tam'ra of Rainbow Vortex]

I think they will be ok as long as they get along fine normally and have the space to get away from eachother.

 

[elmo]

Do you have any possible way to separate the two hens?

I had three broodies each with a clutch, and once the eggs started to hatch I kept all three separate. I goofed one time and accidentally let one of the hens into a pen with another hen. A vicious hen fight ensued, with one hen pecking and hanging on to the other hen's comb like a bulldog! It was awful, and I was more careful after that.

It depends on the personalities of the individual birds, but I'd be very nervous about leaving two broodies together. It's those mom hormones: it can make them get pretty fierce.

 

[sunnyday1]

Thanks for the replies
I ended up putting all the eggs under one, and taking the other back to the coop with the other hens....

 

[NellaBean]

Just FYI, my broodies seem to like sharing the nest and going in pairs or trios. I haven't had any problems. Had 3 hens share 3 babies one time, 2 hens share 4 babies last time.....and currently have 3 hens piled in the same nest again, just sitting on eggs. It actually works out well, assuming the moms get along. I tend to have an "aggressive" mom and a "nice" mom...usually the aggressive one will attack everyone in sight, while the nice mom watches the babies from a distance. LOL.

You could try it out to see what happens, just keep an eye on things. My girls seem to do fine.