I also had a broody attack her babies, about 3 1/2 weeks ago. In retrospect, it may have been the fact that I got extra babies from the hatchery when very few of the ones she sat on hatched (3 out of 12 chicks and 4 of 4 keets). One of the keets was wounded a few days before the new babies came, but I'm not sure anymore that was mom - keet may have gotten her head stuck in the wire. But then momma wounded a silkie, and I witnessed her pecking at everyone else, very hard, amazed no one else was seriously hurt.
Fortunately we were having an exceptionally hot summer this year (this is the only good thing about it!) so we could leave the babies outside in their hutch (which is inside a coop) with no extra heat. Now, 3 weeks after removing mom, the babies are out of the hutch with free run of their coop, and every morning momma heads straight for them, clucks at them through the wire, drops food through for them, and is generally the best mom possible as long as she's not able to hurt them. I feel bad sometimes that we took her away since she obviously wants to be their mom. But we couldn't risk it with her hurting them.
I think part of the problem is it was her first time broody and I gave her too many eggs (20). Plus, she had 7 babies for a few days, then suddenly had 12 more (I only ordered 10 more, they sent 2 extra, but 10 more was probably still too many). Next time I'll give her somewhat fewer eggs (though it's tough when so few hatched to know if next time I should set fewer eggs - maybe there will be a better hatch rate when it's not so blazing hot? Then will it be too many? Tough to say.) But anyway, now I know better than to give too many chicks to a first-time broody.
Good luck, it's hard to say exactly what is the right thing to do sometimes, you just have to wing it.
Fortunately we were having an exceptionally hot summer this year (this is the only good thing about it!) so we could leave the babies outside in their hutch (which is inside a coop) with no extra heat. Now, 3 weeks after removing mom, the babies are out of the hutch with free run of their coop, and every morning momma heads straight for them, clucks at them through the wire, drops food through for them, and is generally the best mom possible as long as she's not able to hurt them. I feel bad sometimes that we took her away since she obviously wants to be their mom. But we couldn't risk it with her hurting them.
I think part of the problem is it was her first time broody and I gave her too many eggs (20). Plus, she had 7 babies for a few days, then suddenly had 12 more (I only ordered 10 more, they sent 2 extra, but 10 more was probably still too many). Next time I'll give her somewhat fewer eggs (though it's tough when so few hatched to know if next time I should set fewer eggs - maybe there will be a better hatch rate when it's not so blazing hot? Then will it be too many? Tough to say.) But anyway, now I know better than to give too many chicks to a first-time broody.
Good luck, it's hard to say exactly what is the right thing to do sometimes, you just have to wing it.
