first time broody crushing eggs

[snazzyboots]

i have 2 first time broodies that are sitting on duck and chicken eggs both are in the same nest. everytime we try to separate them they move all the eggs back in to one box. they are due to hatch wednesday. today though we noticed a shell in the coop that looked like a baby had hatched but baby was nowhere to be found. later after the hens got out back in the nest after being out for a few minutes one of the girls stepped on an egg and cracked it open. the yolk wasn't absorbed and mama hen ate the yolk and kicked the baby out of the nest. not sure if it died before or after she kicked it out. i removed most of the rest of the eggs to the incubator. my question is should i remove all the eggs? im worried that she might crack more or kick new hatched babies out of the nest but if there are no babies will she stop brooding? both hens are super sweet and are taking the brooding business very seriously. i think they are just clumsy but not sure what to do next. any advice is appreciated.

 

[sourland]

Upon occasion 2 broodies can share a nest and successfully hatch a brood. In my experience that hs been more the exception rather than the norm. Generally quarreling over the eggs results in cracked or broken eggs and very low percentage hatches. For me this has been true with both ducks and chickens. The exception being some bantams, silkies, and cochins who seem more willing to share the nest. Standard hens and ducks have been a real disaster when on communal nests. If I really wanted to hatch those eggs, i would either remove one hen or put the eggs in an incubator. Good luck in salvaging this hatch.

 

[snazzyboots]

thanks for the reply. this isn't an important hatch. i only did it since the girls went broody. i just don't want the babies to suffer. we have separate nests but the girls keep moving them together. they are usually good in the nest but one just trampled in it yesterday. since then no more issues. i'm assuming though that if i hatch the rest in the incubator that the girls won't accept them. in that case when will they stop being broody? i'm hoping that she only kicked the baby she squished out of the nest because it was dead already and will be ok with any others that may hatch. thanks again