Hen won’t stop being broody, abandoned live chick

[Beginnerhatcher93]

So I had a broody hen sitting on about 15 eggs, it was definitely a staggered hatch and only one hatched. I let her sit on them for several days and by the third day moved her and the chick out of the nesting box cause I was worried about them getting water and they were high off the ground. I moved her eggs too in case she wanted to keep sitting on them. After a day or so she had moved her chick from where I put her so I gave her 3 of the eggs left. It was about a week and none had hatched so I took them all away and we did find one was alive but two were rotten. She was very upset. The last couple days now she has gotten back into the nesting boxes and tried to sit on the eggs that random hens have laid. She is very aggressive, more than my other hens and her chick is on the ground peeping and gets into the nesting box with her at night.

Now I have another broody hen with all the eggs marked the same day and one either hatched early or was mismarked because I went out one day and she was on the ground with her chick leaving about 10 viable eggs. I again moved these to the ground and now since the other hen is acting this way I gave those eggs to that hen in the hopes this will break her broodiness, also I don’t want to recreate that behavior in the second hen if she already abandoned the eggs once.

I’m not sure what to do at this point and realize I probably created a bunch of problems. Any advice? I don’t have an incubator nor any interest in raising chicks myself.

 

[Beginnerhatcher93]

Well I see I can’t delete a thread but I went out tonight and all 3 hens were on the ground with their chicks. So unless another hen adopted that chick I just have a new broody hen. I am confused since a couple nights ago that chick was in the nesting box with what I thought was its mother, and it’s always been more aggressive than the other broody hens and the one in the box has this behavior and the one on the ground with the chick was not as aggressive. All the hens are black and I can’t tell them apart and only some are banded.

 

[McChooky]

So I had a broody hen sitting on about 15 eggs, it was definitely a staggered hatch and only one hatched. I let her sit on them for several days and by the third day moved her and the chick out of the nesting box cause I was worried about them getting water and they were high off the ground. I moved her eggs too in case she wanted to keep sitting on them. After a day or so she had moved her chick from where I put her so I gave her 3 of the eggs left. It was about a week and none had hatched so I took them all away and we did find one was alive but two were rotten. She was very upset. The last couple days now she has gotten back into the nesting boxes and tried to sit on the eggs that random hens have laid. She is very aggressive, more than my other hens and her chick is on the ground peeping and gets into the nesting box with her at night.

Now I have another broody hen with all the eggs marked the same day and one either hatched early or was mismarked because I went out one day and she was on the ground with her chick leaving about 10 viable eggs. I again moved these to the ground and now since the other hen is acting this way I gave those eggs to that hen in the hopes this will break her broodiness, also I don’t want to recreate that behavior in the second hen if she already abandoned the eggs once.

I’m not sure what to do at this point and realize I probably created a bunch of problems. Any advice? I don’t have an incubator nor any interest in raising chicks myself.

Dunking their belly in water and placing the broody hens in crates off the ground with no bedding has a cooling effect .It should break them of being broody.Never let your hens sit longer than 3 weeks.
https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2018/11/broody-hens.html

 

[Beginnerhatcher93]

Thanks. It looks like I’ll have to do that as two eggs under it hatched and she killed them so it’s obviously the same hen. I’m toying with the idea of taking the remaining eggs away because I hear them peeping already and not excited about her killing those too. Is it possible to hatch an already peeping egg without an incubator, just a light?