Egg thief

[cachick15]

Hi everyone. I have two 9 month old hens, an easter egger and a buff orpington. The BO went broody a couple weeks ago so I got some fertile eggs for her to hatch. When we picked her up to switch the eggs (she was laying on about a dozen eggs), she got up and went for a quick walk. In that time, the EE (who was not broody at all) decided she wanted to hatch the eggs and sat on the nest and has been there since. I think it's been about four days since this happened and as far as I can tell she hasn't gotten up at all to eat/drink/poop. The BO (who got kicked out of the nest) has been laying BY the nest ever since. I saw her kind of trying to unsuccessfully poke her way back in yesterday. She is not laying on any eggs, just isn't leaving the coop or the nest box. I'm not sure how to proceed as these are my first chickens. Any suggestions would be very helpful. As much as I want the eggs to hatch, I'd rather have my two laying hens back to normal. Thanks in advance for any insight or advice.

 

[Titanpaul726]

First off, welcome to BYC!

Is the EE laying on the eggs you want to hatch?

 

[cachick15]

Thanks so much! Yes, the EE is lying on the hatching eggs. The BO is just lying next to her on some litter. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to intervene or what because neither of them are getting up. I know they only get up once a day when they're brooding, but I don't even think they're doing that.

 

[Rowsdower]

Are you providing them with food and water right on the nest? You might try feeding them outside the coop. Don't let them starve, but try to coax them out for a walk and a bite to eat once or twice a day. They'll do their business outside and one of them may decide that sitting on eggs is less fun than hanging out with the other chickens.

 

[lazy gardener]

You have a dilemma on your hands. But, IMO, it's not a bad one. Your BO is still broody, even though she's been fired from her job by the EE. So, she's patiently waiting until the EE needs to go tend to business. I'm guessing that she'll then seize the opportunity, and hop back in the nest to keep the eggs warm. Some hens very successfully share broody duties. Others fight over the nest. When that happens, eggs can get crushed.

I once had a pair of Mallard hens who shared the same nest. They cooperated to cover and successfully hatch 24 eggs. (Not bad since there were only 26 total!) No fighting at all, but if an egg could be seen sticking out from under one of the hen's skirt, the other hen would grab it and tuck it under her own skirt! When the ducklings hatched, one hen took off and never looked back, leaving her sister to tend all the ducklings.

You could divide the clutch, and give each hen her own nest, or leave them to work out the details with the status quo.

 

[Titanpaul726]

It sounds like you have a Mexican stand off going on there!

If you want them to get back to laying, the only thing I could suggest is you get rid of the eggs (they) are brooding over. I would be tempted to remove the eggs if I was concerned about their health. Or, you could just let it play out and see what happens. Maybe slide some more fertilized eggs under the BO? Don't be afraid to intervene if you think it's needed.

 

[pingu1]

I just pick up the broody hen and put it by the food it eats and drinks then goes back into the nest box also a hen can leave the eggs for 24 hours