Help with Broody Hen....now 2 broody hens!

[sunnie7]

So 9 days ago I put 6 fertilized eggs under my broody bantam Cochin. I have a small coop with just her and another bantam Cochin in it. They are both going on 4 years old but never been around a rooster so never hatched before. Yesterday the other hen went broody too and is sitting in the same nest box right next to the girl with the eggs....how will this work out?! Once chicks hatch will both be mom or do I need to separate the hens?

Edited to add....could I move the newly broody one to another nest box and give her other eggs to hatch? Or am I going to need to separate them?

 

[sourland]

It all depends on the hens. Some hens co brood with no problems. Others steal the eggs from one another and sometimes inadvertently break or crack the eggs. Personally co brooding has resulted in low percentage hatches for me.

 

[sunnie7]

It all depends on the hens. Some hens co brood with no problems. Others steal the eggs from one another and sometimes inadvertently break or crack the eggs. Personally co brooding has resulted in low percentage hatches for me.

If I mover one into another nest box with eggs from the incubator that were set at the same time would that work or I just need to section them off and separate them??

 

[sunnie7]

@aart any suggestions?!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I would actually seperate then if they're going to have seperate nests

 

[MarkJr]

Two broody hens at the same time in the same area is a recipe for disaster. Some can, but a lot cannot.

Safest route for the chicks would be break one of them. Single broody is chaos in my coop. I cannot imagine 2.

 

[EggWalrus]

I've had hens that "Co-Sat" on the eggs without breaking any, but other times I've had them fight over the eggs. It just depends on the girls personalities. As far as raising them, about the same way. I had 4 hens go broody in a community nest and they would take turns sitting, and when the chicks hatched, all the Momma's were super protective and would gang up and fight any other chickens that got to close to the babies. The babies would just bop along from one Momma to the other. But that was the only time I've had that many do that.
Nowadays, I try to keep them seperated. If all the babies make it, it makes them stick to the one Momma without thinking that any old chicken will welcome them like their Momma will. Some chickens don't like having another's babies underfoot.

 

[aart]

@aart any suggestions?!

Personally, I would break the second broody.

 

[sunnie7]

I’ve booted the other hen out of the coop and today I noticed my original broody is get rice very pale. I made her got out and she pooped but that’s it...I move food and water right next to her and tried some wet cat food. Any other suggestions. She’s on day 14 and was broody a couple days before I gave her the eggs.

 

[MarkJr]

Is it hot? My broody gets pale when it’s hot.