One hen went broody. Other hen caught the broody bug! Can I take most or all of the eggs away to keep from having 5-6 roosters added to my flock?

[MountainHenMama]

I have one rooster and two hens. One of my hens went broody on only four eggs about a week ago. We decided to let the eggs hatch, since we have plenty of space in the coop and yard, and wanted to add a few more chickens to our small group. Yesterday, the other hen went broody as well. They are both now totally coop-bound. Since one hen was laying eggs for a full week after the other then went broody, I believe there are about 10 eggs being incubated between the two would-be mamas. We cannot have 50% of that number of eggs end up as roosters, and we don’t want them to be eaten or fought if we were to give them away. My plan is to take most if not all of the eggs out from under both girls, and try to get at least the newest broody to snap out of it. Since one hen has been incubating her eggs for a full week, I know some of them will be developing already, so my thought is to candle them and let her keep those. Am I being too soft?

 

[MountainHenMama]

Candled all eggs. 8 of 13 eggs were developing (5 got a late start because of the one hen that kept laying, and the broody hen was scooping them up). I put the 8 back that had signs of development and put the other 5 in my fridge. Both hens went right back to sitting on the 8 I returned. I will be more vigilant in removing eggs every morning. I had only skipped ONE day of picking up eggs!

 

[JaeG]

Just be aware however many eggs you leave your broody/s with they potentially could all end up being cockerels (it happens). Its not always 50/50 and usually swings more one way or the other.

for girls.

 

[aart]

If both are good and broody, they won't be laying any more eggs.

Am I being too soft?

Up to you.
If you want more birds, half of them likely being male, then let one or both sit.
Or break either one or both of them.

 

[janiedoe]

I personally would let them both sit on the 8 remaining eggs. The rooster would wear one hen out. I have had hatches of 100% male out of 3 eggs but usually end up with hatches where 2/3 were male. You can often find homes by posting on craigslist.
I wouldn't worry about being "soft" (I am & I embrace it) but you're going to have to come to terms with the fact that you cannot keep every cockrel that hatches. Well you can, but you'll need seperate housing and even then they may not get along. If you rehome them, you'll need to realize that what happens to them afterwards is out of your control.
I would consider breaking your broodies earlier next time. Best wishes for a multitude of pullets!

 

[MountainHenMama]

If both are good and broody, they won't be laying any more eggs.

Up to you.
If you want more birds, half of them likely being male, then let one or both sit.
Or break either one or both of them.

Thanks! Both decided to keep sitting, so that’s the best case scenario for no more late eggs getting in the mix. Fingers crossed for mostly girls. I will them to all be girls.

 

[aart]

Both decided to keep sitting,

No, you decided to let them sit

so that’s the best case scenario for no more late eggs getting in the mix.

I'd still mark all the eggs to make sure no new ones get laid.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

 

[MountainHenMama]

I personally would let them both sit on the 8 remaining eggs. The rooster would wear one hen out. I have had hatches of 100% male out of 3 eggs but usually end up with hatches where 2/3 were male. You can often find homes by posting on craigslist.
I wouldn't worry about being "soft" (I am & I embrace it) but you're going to have to come to terms with the fact that you cannot keep every cockrel that hatches. Well you can, but you'll need seperate housing and even then they may not get along. If you rehome them, you'll need to realize that what happens to them afterwards is out of your control.
I would consider breaking your broodies earlier next time. Best wishes for a multitude of pullets!

Thank you! I definitely learned the hard way. They weren’t even hiding their eggs - I just didn’t pick up the eggs for two days and that’s all it took. The weather was just perfect. These girls just started laying late January, but they must be excited about becoming mama birds.

 

[MountainHenMama]

After all that, only one chick was accepted by both mamas. They killed one right as it hatched, and the last one was left cold when both mamas attached to the only chick that hatched. I saved it, kept it warm, and gave it back. They sat on it for one more day, then left it again mid hatch. I came home to a struggling baby trying to escape a dry membrane. I helped it out of its shell as I was certain it wasn’t getting itself out. They couldn’t care less about it. So since it was 45 degrees outside I took it in and made it a brooder. Next day when it was dry and fluffy I tried to give it back again. They tried to kill it. So I stole their only other baby and am raising them together in my guest bathroom. I wasn’t about to let my only two hens both play mommy for 3-5 weeks, and get zero eggs, and I didn’t want the late baby to be alone. The older baby was very upset for a couple of hours, but those hens forgot all about it in about 30 seconds. Hopefully they will lay eggs again in a week or two since they aren’t raising one chick. This is why you always get all the eggs out every morning if you have a rooster... doesn’t matter if you have a kid home sick with 106 temp for a week. Get them all out! Learning the hard way is my motto. I need a new motto.