Hatching eggs and 2 broody hens

[J WUK]

Hello, we have some fertile eggs that we want to stick under a broody hen. We just received the eggs and are waiting until tomorrow morning to take them out to the coop.

Within the past couple days, another one of our hens has gone broody. I am just wondering if I should split them up between the two or just lay them under one? There are only 8 eggs that we are trying to hatch so I know that one can handle them but didn't know if it would be beneficial to split them up.

Also, we have a 4' x 8' brooder in the barn that we use to start hatchery chicks. Should I take the broody hens out of the coop and put them in the brooder until the eggs hatch then reintroduce them all back to the coop?

My concern is that, since we have multiple nesting boxes that one of the broody hens will decide to switch nests and leave the fertile ones. I'm sure that if I keep up with egg collection that I can eliminate that but just thought it a possibility.

So, should I leave them in the coop and let nature take it's course or move them to the brooder? And
should I put them under one hen or both?

This is our first time trying to hatch eggs so we just want to make sure that we are doing it right.

Thanks!

 

[Monkeybean415]

I think it's probably easier to move one to the brooding area to sit. We chose to keep ours in the coop and had to deal with other hens stealing eggs or broody stealing theirs. We also lost a could eggs early on due to the extra commotion. The layers always wanted to lay in her nest.

You could split them up and give both a chance to hatch. Can yo get more eggs for the new broody? Either way I would keep them separated or break the other one from broodiness. So if you do want them both to brood put on in brooder and leave the other in nesting box. If they're together during sitting they'll try to steal each other's eggs and as soon as the first chick hatches and starts peeping the other hen might abandon her nest to go to it. After hatch they should be able to co raise the chicks.

 

[J WUK]

That helps and makes sense. What I will probably do is just take the one that has been broody the longest (Black Copper Maran) and move her to the brooder with all 8 eggs and hopefully get the other one (Blue Ameraucana) to snap out of it. Thanks for the response!

 

[Monkeybean415]

Sounds like a good plan! I look forward to hearing how it all goes!

 

[J WUK]

So this morning I sectioned off the brooder into two parts and placed both broody hens in a side with 8 eggs each (8 BCM eggs from mail and 8 mixed variety that were laid by my hens this morning).

They have been out there for awhile but will not sit on the eggs.

I know that they are still broody because I had to fight them off the nesting boxes when I went to get them this morning.

Is this normal since it's a new environment for them? I'm hoping that they will get used to it and go back to sitting.

If not, should I just put them back in the coop and hope for the best? Or maybe section off a small corner with chicken wire for one of them to nest in?

 

[Monkeybean415]

I have heard that some broodies won't want to sit in a new place. So it's possible that you'll have to change your plans and leave them in the coop. Do you have the same type of bedding down in the brooder? Can you cover it and make it cozy like a nest box? It also might be a better idea to move them or add eggs at night when it's dark.

Good luck and hope they start sitting again soon. Were they sitting on eggs in the nesting box?

 

[J WUK]

Yep, in a nesting box. I actually moved the nesting box into the brooder but she still wouldn't sit. Then I moved her back to the coop but separated a section off and she still wouldn't sit. Ended up just putting her back in the coop and the first thing she did was run over, sit on the eggs, and starting squawking at me to leave her alone and she has been sitting ever since. I'll just have to let her take care of it the natural way and keep an eye on other chickens trying to lay eggs in her nest. Same issue with the other hen, I marked some of our own eggs that should be fertile from the rooster and let her sit on them. Not real concerned if they hatch but hopefully she'll get a couple for her troubles.

 

[Monkeybean415]

Funny- Chickens can be so finicky. I'm glad she decided to sit on them and good luck! What kind of eggs did you order?

 

[J WUK]

We ordered 8 French black Cooper maran eggs. We have a couple BCM hens but they are from a hatchery and don't really lay the dark eggs. They are only slightly darker than a typical brown egg. We have some blue ameraucana hens and a rooster so I put a couple of those under the other hen along with a mismatch of brown and Easter egger eggs. If any of the ameraucana or BCM eggs hatch we will keep them but probably give any of the other chicks away once they are a little older. We were only planning to hatch the BCM but figured we'd let the other hen have a chance since she's already broody. I'll post pics of we have any success.

 

[Monkeybean415]

Nice! I haven't tried ordering eggs online yet. I get fertile eggs from a local farm but hope to have a roo in this recent batch to keep around. I look forward to seeing how things go for you.