Wife thinks it's Mean to take eggs away.

[racuda]

I started out with 12 guinea eggs split between an OEGB and a Cochin. Now it appears that 8 of them are developing and I want to combine them under the OEGB and let her hatch and raise them.

My wife thinks its cruel and unfair to the Cochin to do that. I think the Cochin has no concept of thwarted motherhood and will never miss the eggs after a couple of days.

What do you think?

 

[Cara]

It depends what's scarier to deal with, the broody or a mad wife

 

[pdsavage]

If she is broody she will sit there anyway,or try and find some new eggs to brood..might as well give her a few eggs and get it over with....

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'd personally consolidate the eggs. It is hard on a hen to be broody. She does not eat and drink enough to maintain herself in the peak of condition. She'll usually eat and drink enough to stay alive and able to function, but why punish a hen by keeping her broody when it is not necessary? Here's a link on how to break a broody.

Break a Broody Thread
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=2176186#p2176186

There is also some risk to having two broodies raising chicks at the same time, especially if the chicks are about the same age. It is not always a disaster. Sometimes it works out fine, depending on the temperment and personality of your broodies.

A hen will sometimes kill the chicks of a rival. She thinks the chicks are a threat to her own. I'd think this is fairly rare but I've seen it reported on here several times, especially during the hatch.

Sometimes, one hen will decide she wants to raise all the chicks. When she tries to take the chicks from the other hen a pretty serious fight develops. The chicks can be hurt as bystanders even if the hens don't seriously injure each other.

As I said, this does not happen every time, but it does happen. I started out saying I would consolidate the eggs. Personally, I would never start two broodies within three weeks of each other.

Good luck!

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

You are right, in general a chicken doesn't have the brain power to moon over lost eggs. i would combine them under whichever hen is the best mother.

i tried to let two broodies hatch a bunch of eggs together, and it didn't go well. Every time one would move an inch, the other would try to scoop the eggs out from under her bloomers. When the chicks began to hatch, they both started pecking at the first chick, trying to kill it. i had to take the chick and eggs away and finish them in an incubator.