I am surrounded by broodies - help, advice? I am over my head.

[Trux]

Look what I found waiting for me when I went to do nightly rounds!!! She has 2 more eggs under her...one of those hatched is an ultra dark marans - I'm tickled pink because I have not had much luck hatching those in the incubator

Congrats!!

 

[PouleChick]

Look what I found waiting for me when I went to do nightly rounds!!

Well I'm glad to report that 4 out of 5 of my broody hens hatched their last viable egg

Just gorgeous! Well done to both!
Robert G - does that mean one poor mummy hasnt' got a baby or is she still sitting?

 

[Robert G]

When I moved the 4 hens I found 2 eggs that other hens had laid while the broodys would get up to eat. I candled them and they were already developing so I gave them to the 5th. Hopefully she will stay on them and hatch them.

 

[Robert G]

I just got 3 more go broody with a possible 4th already clucking. I can't believe all 11 hens went broody around the same time. That's because 2 of them already had chicks earlier in the year.

 

[Robert G]

Just gorgeous! Well done to both!
Robert G - does that mean one poor mummy hasnt' got a baby or is she still sitting?

It was a close one, this past weekend was her hatch date, but she got up on Saturday and did not go back. Luckily one of my experienced hens went broody 2 days before and she's been jumping nests each time another hen gets up to eat. Well she went into the hen's nest that got up and sat on her eggs. Sure enough Sunday she hatched 2 chicks. Funny thing is that the 2 eggs I gave her were her's. She's known to lay eggs in everyone's nest.

 

[Robert G]

Here's a picture of mom and her chicks.

 

[Alo]

So I started off with one broody hen, a little phoenix, who wisely chose to brood in the new hen house which has no nest boxes. I built a little impromptu nest box around her and so far she has 4 fertile eggs she is cooking. All good. No one bothers her.

Why did you pick a Phoenix as your one broody hen?