Broody hen tried to murder baby chick :(

Fuzzybottom13

In the Brooder
6 Years
Aug 7, 2013
44
4
32
East Bethel, MN
Two of my hens have been sharing a lay box because both are broody and I've only allowed them to hatch one box. A baby hatched yesterday and the Brahama she was under at that time didn't seem particularly motherly to her, but I decided to leave the chick until this morning and see what happened. The chick was under both hens in the box this morning. I removed the Polish which apparently made her very angry because she then plucked the baby from the lay box & aggressively tried to murder it in front of me. I kicked & threw her off the baby, but she managed to leave a pretty severe injury where one of the legs attaches to the body. Its an open wound, looks like I can see a tendon. The baby is now inside and is silently chirping. Is there anything I can do for this baby or do I just wait & see?
 
I'm really sorry to hear that.

I had two broodies and one killed all three of the others by tearing the skin off the back, neck, or leg. The wounds were bad, but not terrible. The chicks are just so delicate.

This chick eventually died from its wounds


However, I have heard of chicks with wounds surviving, so hurry and bring it inside. Hydrate it, put medication on the wound and keep it clean. Give it electrolytes and vitamins. Keep the chick warm and rested.

I hope it gets better soon!
 
What should I put on the wound? Flush with warm water then a neosporin sort of thing?

I forgot to mention the baby also has a partially unabsorbed yolk sac. Will this affect how I clean the wound? I had another chick hatch a few days ago with an unabsorbed yolk sac as well (also outcasted and found in the chicken feeder near death - died a few hours later). Could the hens somehow be forcing the chicks out too soon somehow (like pecking at the egg)? Should I put the rest of the eggs in an incubator?
 
I'm not sure why some chicks don't absorb their yolk sac. Perhaps the mother is trying to help them hatch, perhaps the chicks weren't kept warm or humid enough by their mother, perhaps it is just poor genetics or nutrition.
Whatever the reason, it is an emergency. Put them on a soft, easy to grip surface so they can absorb it without it bursting. If this happens, they aren't likely to survive.

I hope this link helps: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-treat-cuts-and-wounds-in-chickens.html

Look out for infection.

Best of luck!
 
I had a Black Copper Maran chick hatch the other day that hadn't properly absorbed its yolk sac. I sprayed a small amount of Iodine spray around where the umbilical / yolk sac joins the belly and then placed the chick and egg sac in a few peices of warm damp kitchen towel / paper. This was to keep him damp and prevent him drying out as he was covered in a lot of gac that sets like cement when dry. Also to keep the egg sac from drying out.

I then put the now wraped chick in the incubator to keep warm checking on it several times over the next few hours to see how the egg sac was absorbing and if I needed to keep the paper towel damp.

5 hrs later the chick had absorbed the egg sack and was still covered in semi damp gack. So I carefully cut the remains of the now empty egg sac away with some sterial scissors and gave him a gentle warm bath makeing sure not to get the umbilical area wet.

To clean him up I used a new soft childs tooth brush and brushed the muck out of his fluff, then dried him with a warm hair dryer on a low setting. I put some more Iodine spay on its umblical stump and then placed him in the brooder with 3 other Maran chicks.

I honestly wasn't sure if he'd survive as he was pretty weak after all that. But I'm glad to say that 72 hours later he's running around cheeping his head off and acting the little rogue as he's into everything and demanding constant attention. So fingers crossed he will be fine as he's now eating and drinking well and generally being a very cute little rogue.

( I'm not sure what sex he is but by his charcture I would say he's a Rooster but I've yet to see.)
 
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I had a Black Copper Maran chick hatch the other day that hadn't properly absorbed its yolk sac. I sprayed a small amount of Iodine spray around where the umbilical / yolk sac joins the belly and then placed the chick and egg sac in a few peices of warm damp kitchen towel / paper. This was to keep him damp and prevent him drying out as he was covered in a lot of gac that sets like cement when dry. Also to keep the egg sac from drying out.

I then put the now wraped chick in the incubator to keep warm checking on it several times over the next few hours to see how the egg sac was absorbing and if I needed to keep the paper towel damp.

5 hrs later the chick had absorbed the egg sack and was still covered in semi damp gack. So I carefully cut the remains of the now empty egg sac away with some sterial scissors and gave him a gentle warm bath makeing sure not to get the umbilical area wet.

To clean him up I used a new soft childs tooth brush and brushed the muck out of his fluff, then dried him with a warm hair dryer on a low setting. I put some more Iodine spay on its umblical stump and then placed him in the brooder with 3 other Maran chicks.

I honestly wasn't sure if he'd survive as he was pretty weak after all that. But I'm glad to say that 72 hours later he's running around cheeping his head off and acting the little rogue as he's into everything and demanding constant attention. So fingers crossed he will be fine as he's now eating and drinking well and generally being a very cute little rogue.

( I'm not sure what sex he is but by his charcture I would say he's a Rooster but I've yet to see.)

That's awesome! With a little TLC that chick seems to have made a full recovery.
thumbsup.gif
 
It sure does and he's still running around and getting into trouble, if its a rooster I susopect his name will mostly likely be Rebel as he's proveing to be lol.
 
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