Hen killed her 4 1/2 week old chick!!

[greasemonkey88]

Nevermind this site sucks big time!!! Wouldnt upload the picture! Sick of it peace out

That's because your missing a "]" at the end of your image for the proper coding. Just take a breath.

 

[buffboy]

Thank you greasemonkey. It has been a long day. Not only did the one hen kill her chick but also found a 6 foot long black snake in a broody pen where a hen just hatched chicks 4 days ago. Different hen btw. And it ate 5 in one sitting and then curled up underneath the pine shavings in the nesting box. Just had enough for one day.

 

[centrarchid]

Artifacts of confinement you are experiencing.


See following threads.

Older longer deals more with hen side of arrangement.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/451333/constructing-a-single-chicken-family-unit-for-porch


Second current deals more with father side.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/882368/what-to-look-for-in-a-broody-rooster

If you have time read the observations. My birds are games but they do things close to natural. They like yours can have problems in confinement. When confinement is employed you must be more on your toes to prevent complications.

 

[buffboy]

Anyways this is the picture I was trying to upload. She doesnt look too homicidal to me. She went right into the broody pen with the chicks and curled up with all of them with wings open. But I am not taking any chances so I pulled her out and stuck her on the roosting pole.

 

[enola]

All those happenings today could ruin anybody's day.

 

[buffboy]

@ centrachid....no way is confinement a product of what I am experiencing! They roam my entire farm ALL DAY LONG!! No chicken is cooped up ever. Well except my rooster but he is in time out and that is another story. They are only locked up during darkness.

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

Are you sure that the broody is the one that killed the chick? So sorry to hear about the snake

, raising chickens can be rough. This site is here to help anytime you need it!

 

[buffboy]

While I must admit I didnt physically see her do it but my gut feeling says yeah. She was pecking at them pretty hard yesterday and I have yet to see any of the other chicks being aggresive. And yes I killed a snake in another brood pen but snakes dont kill just for the fun of it. And this chick was not deflated looking which would be a sign of a weasel. Appeared to be pecked to death. Lots of feathers missing.

 

[centrarchid]

@ centrachid....no way is confinement a product of what I am experiencing! They roam my entire farm ALL DAY LONG!! No chicken is cooped up ever. Well except my rooster but he is in time out and that is another story. They are only locked up during darkness.

Then loss not caused by hen.

 

[Bethel3330]

Anyways this is the picture I was trying to upload. She doesnt look too homicidal to me. She went right into the broody pen with the chicks and curled up with all of them with wings open. But I am not taking any chances so I pulled her out and stuck her on the roosting pole.

Good call on that. I'm sorry about your losses!