Chicken stealing other broody's clutch

[aliciaFarmer]

I have two broodies, a black australorp and a black copper marans, both on eggs due to hatch 4 days apart (in 4 and in 8 days). I hadn't realized until yesterday that despite giving her only a few eggs, the second now has 17 in her nest! No wonder my egg count has dropped so much.

Frequently, over the past three days, the wrong hen (a barred rock) has been sitting on the maran's clutch. I didn't know until today that the barred rock is attacking the bcm and forcing her off her eggs. Wth? Have you ever heard of this? I watched and removed her 5 times in a row today.

I have never experienced this in all my years. I ended up taking the ones that were the barred rock's from yesterday plus another layed today out of the nest and putting them elsewhere to see if she'd sit. Nope. I went back later and one was gone! No shell remained but it was evident she or someone ate it as everything was slimy with white. That's when I realized she'd likely been the culprit of 5 pecked eggs over the past few days. If I were 100% positive I'd gift or process her immediately but with 25 chickens I suppose it could be someone else.

I'm really not sure what to do here. I ended up moving the Marans and put a ton of fakes plus the other 2 from the BR in that spot to see if she'd sit there and leaf my poor BCM alone. That was jyst a couple of minutes ago.

Has anyone seen this before or have any advice that differs from what I've already done?

 

[aliciaFarmer]

Nevermind. Putting the bully girl on fake eggs where the other mama was did the trick. I still can't believe it's the dead of winter, 20 degree nights and I have 3 Broody hens though.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Stealing eggs among broody hens is actually pretty common.
Did you mark all the eggs under the setters so you can remove volunteers?
It may be cold but days have been getting longer for two and a half months. That is the signal to reproduce, not warmth.
It is 3F here right now but the pineal glands still detect the steady change between light and dark period.

 

[aliciaFarmer]

Stealing eggs among broody hens is actually pretty common.
Did you mark all the eggs under the setters so you can remove volunteers?
It may be cold but days have been getting longer for two and a half months. That is the signal to reproduce, not warmth.
It is 3F here right now but the pineal glands still detect the steady change between light and dark period.

I'm not a chicken master like so many people here as I've only hatched out 53 chicks so far. Good to know that it's common and I'm surprised I've never seen it before in that case. I marked the eggs under the first girl and spaced on the second until I noticed her clutch had tripled in size. All eggs are now marked though, yes. When we aren't under a foot of snow, I'm going to build a 4 section brood coop and nursery because having these girls together in one brooder is kind of a pain with the fighting and theft. Lesson learned.

 

[Crazy for Chickens!]

Do you have your broody hens in with the rest of the flock?

 

[aliciaFarmer]

Do you have your broody hens in with the rest of the flock?

Nope, not currently. They have a big brooder inside the chicken house but I plan to make a whole separate coop and outdoor space for mamas and babies for less feeding issues as I integrate babies between four to five weeks.

I've had broodies intermixed with the rest of the flock before without incident though.

 

[Helloworld]

I had barred rocks and they would do the same. Got rid of them because I was having to incubate the ones supposed to be sitting while BR was having brunch everyday. I set up a camera and come to find out because she wasn’t broody the eggs where in her way and to her she was cleaning out a spot for her to be used permanently only by her. Her as in every single Bar hen I had.