2 hens raising chicks, 1 hen biting

MontanaFlock

In the Brooder
Jun 24, 2023
13
14
31
I got fertilized eggs from a neighbor and 2 of my hens hatched 6 chicks. I put them in separate enclosure, but one hen (Betty) is biting one of the chicks that is a different color from all the others and causing a bit of mayhem.

It looks like the other hen could take care of all 6 just fine and it seems like the chicks prefer her. I tried separating Betty, but she can see the chicks thru the fence and was upset.

Should I keep trying to separate Betty and break her bond? Or will things settle down and Betty will stop biting the odd chick?
 
I could divide my enclosure, but it would make it really small.. and since the one hen is taking care of all 6, I thought it would be better to try to take the biting hen out.
Can one hen raise all 6 by herself?

I took the biting hen out and it's been about 2 hours and if course she still wants back in with the babies. How long will it take for her to stop wanting to be with the babies?
 

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