I have a similar situation. One hen went broody. Second hen continued to lay eggs right next to her. Right next to her-their sides are touching. Now second hen is broody, but didn't start setting until a week or so after the first broody hen.
I don't know how this is going to work out.
Every time that I try messing with a broody hen in any way - to move her or do anything with her eggs - she quits. So, I'm reluctant to move them.
I have just a few eggs being incubated right now, that should hatch this weekend. It would be nice if I could somehow get one of those hens to accept the chicks. First hen's eggs aren't due to hatch for another week or so, though.
It's already been so hot here, already over 100 for a few days and it's supposed to get worse. All my hens, including these broodies, have scratched away all the straw bedding and made hollows in the sand to lay their eggs. The broody hens were supposed to be in the pasture mobile coop, but they kept coming all the way back to the coop by the house. They made their nests on the floor, under some cages in the corner of the coop, instead of in the many bedded nest boxes. So far, they haven't been panting or showing any heat stress.
Gonna be 106 today and not looking forward to it. I've had ..........oh......was gonna say 4 hours sleep, but more like 3. Geez
I've never had a broody stay broody after moving her. I bet if I hadn't caged my bantam Langshun and still keeping them there for another day or so, they would have sat anywhere I left them. That's after hatching out chicks and me taking them away.
The Phoenix broodies are nuts. The one will come out, but not do more than eat or drink. Granted that's a few times a day. I set eggs under a FBCM X Game hen and then was going to set a Game hen with other eggs, But they were adamant they were doing it together. I tried to pull each one and mover her to set on a different nest of eggs. Both broke eggs and had a fit. I'd turn them loose and you'd see tail and legs in the air running back to the first nest. I didn't get to set the eggs I wanted at that rate.
I have another Game hen sitting she has actually had chicks hatch that I took away and then I slipped a few under her that I had been incubating. I have had some horrible hatches again, so figured I'd see if I could get enough of what I want.
Had another broody SPPR that I set eggs under and I was so mad that the extra eggs she got from her friends were mainly what she still had under her. I Set 12 or 13 eggs under her and she had chicks hatching over 2 days, the first night I brought her whole crate in. Next day I set her back out and nothing. Then I'd hear another chick. I was going to pull the eggs after nothing for 2 days and found another chick. I =n the meantime I'm pulling chicks for the brooder. At first she was ok with the chicks except I really didn't give her long with them, but as eggs hatched over days, she would either peck all the shells off or wait till they hatched and killed them. First time as a broody and not sure if that would be different later, but she did sit!
Also had another Game x FBCM that had a hidden nest of probably 30 eggs. When I found it it was in a spot I couldn't get to, so I left it. Found her out in the yard with 2 babies! I was going to feed all the animals and later go check on why nothing else was hatched and decided I better move everything and just check. Found one zipped and shrink wrapped and another pipped, so I ran them all into the bator and got about 8 more chicks from those eggs. She's so fired!
Then I finally got a Silkie to go broody. Been waiting for 3 Springs for them to even lay more than 10 eggs all together in a year. They laid a lot more. Got some chicks from the bator, but had no place to keep her to sit, so I think I missed my window. I haven't had an egg from them in about a week and no eggs either. And I need to send some to someone who was waiting for them.
I hear about people moving birds all the time. I've moved their boxes or whatever they had started sitting in and nothing. Last year I had a Game go missing which has always meant she'd show up with babies. The neighbors found her in a empty Pepsi carton that was half smashed in their huge trash pile. MY grand daughter came walking in carrying the whole thing. Weathered, ya know it was wet at one time box. I set it in a crate and she hatched out there, but never wanted that box taken away. LOL
