Broody hen killing chicks

[dhassinger]

I have 3 broody hens sitting on a lot of fertilized developing eggs. 2 chicks hatched first and are doing amazing with all three mamas.
I went out later to check if any more hatched and I found a new chick that looked possibly smooshed under a hen. Later I went out and found a newly hatched chick pushed out of that same hen’s nest. I couldn’t tell if it was dead so I put it up next to that hen to see if she’d tuck it under her but instead she picked it up and shook it by the neck!

I currently have two eggs that just began hatching. I moved the eggs under one of the good mamas, And moved killer hen into another box with less developed eggs that wouldn’t be hatching for another couple weeks.
Should I take the hatching chicks inside under a heat lamp with a damp towel for humidity, give them a chance to build a little strength and them put them back under a hen?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Letting more than one hatch at a time can often end up with confused hens. Not every broody hen knows what to do with chicks. Most bond with chicks through the egg by sound. If the chicks sound different they may reject them. So if chicks are hatching under one hen, than get by another hen she may attack and even kill it. It's why it's important to give hens some alone time with their chicks as they hatch, and not to let multiple hens sit on eggs together.

Also most hens switch from brooding to taking care of chicks about 2-4 days after the first chick hatched and some will reject any others that hatch.

Your best option is to pull chicks as they hatch and brood them yourself. Staggered hatched seldom end well for all the eggs and chicks unfortunately.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Some hens are not good mothers either. I have a bantam cochin that obsessively sets. She'll steal nests from other broodies. As soon as chicks hatch however, she'll kill them. She's not allowed to set anymore and will be going once I'm done with the extra males.

 

[dhassinger]

Letting more than one hatch at a time can often end up with confused hens. Not every broody hen knows what to do with chicks. Most bond with chicks through the egg by sound. If the chicks sound different they may reject them. So if chicks are hatching under one hen, than get by another hen she may attack and even kill it. It's why it's important to give hens some alone time with their chicks as they hatch, and not to let multiple hens sit on eggs together.

Also most hens switch from brooding to taking care of chicks about 2-4 days after the first chick hatched and some will reject any others that hatch.

Your best option is to pull chicks as they hatch and brood them yourself. Staggered hatched seldom end well for all the eggs and chicks unfortunately.

You just described my exact situation haha! Thank you! That’s really helpful. I had a bit of an eggs gone wild situation - I’m very new and underestimated my “teenage rooster”’s fertilizing capabilities with my 10 hens haha. After cracking one that had a little heartbeat floating in a bowl I was horrified and decided to just let my eggs be so I didn’t accidentally kill any others, not expecting much to happen. I now a major developed egg crisis of various phases . They have boxes to choose from, but prefer bunking together and swapping boxes.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

If you have roosters than nearly every egg is potentially fertile. Here I collect eggs twice a day. If one goes broody I either break them or let them set in their own box that I block off. Otherwise marking the eggs you want set can help so you can pull those that are added.

Hens will always want to lay where another hen is laying. It appears safe, and maybe you can get another hen to hatch your chicks for you.

I only know what I know because of all the mistakes I've made along the way. I think most people experience a sharp learning curve keeping chickens. If you are lucky you find BYC, and can find support and information.

 

[NatJ]

You just described my exact situation haha! Thank you! That’s really helpful. I had a bit of an eggs gone wild situation - I’m very new and underestimated my “teenage rooster”’s fertilizing capabilities with my 10 hens haha. After cracking one that had a little heartbeat floating in a bowl I was horrified and decided to just let my eggs be so I didn’t accidentally kill any others, not expecting much to happen.

If that situation ever happens again, you can mark all the eggs on one day, and then every day after that you can collect all new eggs (unmarked ones.) That will keep the situation from getting even worse. If you keep track of the date you mark the eggs, you can figure the latest possible hatch date, and discard any remaining marked eggs after that point.

You can mark eggs with pencil, colored pencil, crayon, or various other things. It is good to mark them with something non-toxic (most things intended for children to use, such as crayons or colored pencils, are non-toxic.)

Food coloring might also work to mark eggs, but I would worry about it smearing onto the new eggs each day, which would be confusing.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

You can mark eggs with pencil, colored pencil, crayon, or various other things. It is good to mark them with something non-toxic (most things intended for children to use, such as crayons or colored pencils, are non-toxic.)

Food coloring might also work to mark eggs, but I would worry about it smearing onto the new eggs each day, which would be confusing.

I've always used a sharpie marker. I put big X's on opposite sides.

 

[NatJ]

I've always used a sharpie marker. I put big X's on opposite sides.

I had not tried a marker, because I worried about it leaking in and causing some kind of trouble. I am glad to know that it can work fine too.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I had not tried a marker, because I worried about it leaking in and causing some kind of trouble. I am glad to know that it can work fine too.

I haven't noticed anything coming from using one. I've been doing it for decades. I have read not to use one, but that wasn't until years later. I decided it was still the best option, so I continue to use them. Everything else rubs off. Even the sharpie will rub off eventually under a muscovy duck, but by that time she's usually sitting tight.