Broody hens

[Teppler]

I have two hens who are both broody on the same set of eggs. They both are on the eggs at the same time and on top of that, the other 3 hens crawl in on top of the two hens and lay their eggs. What if anything should I do?

 

[sourland]

Generally hens co brooding results in very low % hatches. Other hens laying in the nest and bothering the broodies further decreases the chance of eggs hatching. I would remove one broody hen and fix things so that only the one hen has access to the nest site if you want chicks.