Moved my babies to their new brooder

[Joultry]

From my experience with chickens, once they start to eat eggs it is almost impossible to get them to stop. Unfortunately, hens I have had in the past that did this had to be harvest for meat. I hated to do it because I loved them like pets but I couldn't put up with an egg eater. I agree with those who say introduce the broody hen and monitor how she behaves with the chicks because if she is kindly mothering to them it will be what is best for the chicks and for her.

 

[GigitheBackyardHerbilist]

I would just leave them be. Sometimes I fuss too much and ruin a good thing. Unless there's a pressing reason I would just leave them as they are. She might not realize they're hers.

See that's what I was thinking. It's been almost 2 weeks.

 

[Weeg]

It was not a predator, it was either my Easter egger, which is the one I think it was or one of the other hens. Like my lavender orpington.
I also been told that the mom would get rid of eggs that she thought were not viable, so it could have been her getting rid of the eggs that the other chicks laid there, before I marked the fertile eggs that we received from a friend. But I do know that at least three of the eggs were fertile that was cracked or destroyed my lavender orpington step on two crushed one which was fertile, while laying her egg on top of the pile. I had thought all the other chickens had started laying in the two other nesting boxes that were separate from these. I did not know that I had to quarantine her, this was my first time so it was a hard lesson learned.

I learned it the hard way too with my ducks. It was acutally the reason I joined BYC.

I had 2, that escilated to 4 ducks sitting on the same nest. It was a very staggered hatch, and any viable eggs would develop, then get crushed by the hens fighting over the nest. There were a LOT of eggs, lots weren't viable, and none made it to hatch. In the end I broke the hens. It was a crazy 3 months of unsuccessful hatching. Since then I always separate my broody's.