Please advise-Novice with 2 Broody hens

[Jami72]

Hey guys, I know this is gonna seem stupid to you pros out there, but I've had two really young hens go broody on the same day. I'm really excited and want to do it right. Am I supposed to try and change the straw everyday or is that too much shuffling around? Also they are in nest boxes pretty high off the floor. Should I try to move them? The other hens try and crowd in but they are really standing their ground so far. If I had known they were gonna go broody, I would have put in fresh hay. Now I don't know what to do. Thanks so much for anyone that can answer me!

 

[CluckerFamily]

Since I got my first batch of chicks I looked forward to the day of getting a rooster so that a broody could hatch her own. It is a fun thing to watch! I'm in Wisconsin and have allowed the broody hen to hatch some chicks in the spring, I'm always leary about hatching too late in the season, I know some people do.
My set up is a little different than some others, I am able to fit a decent sized dog crate in the coop, I place hay in the crate and leave the door open. I move the hen and eggs into the crate asap. The hen can come and go as she pleases but when it gets close to the hatching day, I keep her in the crate with food and water. I don't replace the hay until the eggs have hatched, I don't check the eggs or pick them up other than to move them into the crate the first time, I let the hen do everything.

 

[Cinnamon Roll]

It all depends on what you are doing about the chicks. If they are on fertilized eggs that you want them to hatch then I would mark their eggs and move the hens and their eggs to a lower location before hatch day. If you want to replace the eggs with baby chicks (from the feed store or wherever) then I would wait to move them until they “hatch”. Happy Wife Acres on YouTube has some good videos on this.

I had 2 go broody on the same day and then another 2 days later. I moved all 3 to a separate coop and had them brood there. (Then I didn’t have as many broken eggs or new eggs mixed with old.) But the problem I had was the hens fighting over the newly hatched chicks and injuring one. I think it would have been better to stagger the hatch dates by giving one newer eggs or buying chicks.

I wouldn’t worry about cleaning out the nests right away or even on a schedule. You may have to do that as time goes on because of broken eggs or a broody poo and I like to avoid bothering the mamas as much as possible. I think I only changed their nest material twice each because of moving or gross stuff.

 

[Jami72]

Thanks so much!!! Good stuff y'all!! I appreciate it!!

 

[aart]

I would break one of them, maybe both.....how old are they and do you have room for more birds and a plan for what to do with the inevitable ~50% males?
How long have they been broody?
I like to move mine before giving them fresh fertile eggs.

Do you have, or can you get, some fertile eggs?
Do you have the space needed? Both for more chickens and she may need to be separated by wire from the rest of the flock.
Do you have a plan on what to do with the inevitable males? Rehome, butcher, keep in separate 'bachelor pad'?
If you decide to let her hatch out some fertile eggs, this is a great thread for reference and to ask questions.
It's a long one but just start reading the first few pages, then browse thru some more at random. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/broody-hen-thread.496101/




Is she on nest most the day and all night?
When you pull her out of nest and put her on the ground, does she flatten right back out into a fluffy screeching pancake?
Does she walk around making a low cluckcluckcluckcluckcluck(ticking bomb) sound on her way back to the nest?
If so, then she is probably broody and you'll have to decide how to manage it.


When I have a broody and want her to hatch I wait until she's been in the nest most the day and all night for 2-3 days...along with those other signs I posted.
Then I put her in the broody enclosure with fake eggs in the floor nest, she won't like being moved, but if she is truly good and broody she will settle onto the new nest within a half a day.
Then I give her fresh fertile eggs and mark the calendar.
I like them separated by wire from the flock, it's just easier all around.
No having to mark eggs and remove any additions daily, no taking up a laying nest, no going back to the wrong nest after the daily constitutional.
I remove barrier about one week after hatch. The chicks are usually safe it's the broody who has to 'fight' her way back into the pecking order...which can be quick or take a few days.
Lots of space helps for re-integration.