Attacked Chick with flayed back - Mama or Predator?

[EggSighted4Life]

No question.

No two hens will be the same. Sometimes a hen won't even be the same twice. There may be no question if you SAW it happen or other behavior like the baby running from mom. I agree they do it sometimes even to their own chicks both with and without reason. But that doesn't instantly make every hen guilty.

Besides... Dear OP, she should be working on integration with the flock if that's where those birds are going. The older they get, the less broody hormonal protective she will be, the more flock antics they face... Just a suggestion. I am very sorry your baby and you face this!

 

[Krazyquilts]

Ha stage baby been sickly or weaker than the rest of the chicks... she might've tried to kill it because it was a "waste of space"

The chick that was attacked is the smallest one, yes.

 

[brendave]

So the solution is definitely a bigger space for them. Will the feathers grow back before molting?

 

[rebrascora]

Once a mother hen is ready to fledge her chicks and go back to laying, she will often be quite brutal with her chicks to get them to leave her and be independent. If they are confined to a small space and cannot take the hint and move away, it is possible for this to happen assuming that you can categorically rule out a predator. If that is the case, you would also have to take some responsibility for this happening due to confining them to a small coop and not entirely blame the broody hen.
My chicks are 11 days old and have been integrated into the penned flock since day 2 with their broody mother. They are remarkably independent already and just snuggle under her for warmth occasionally when they need it. They have learned which hens are crabby and bossy and how to avoid them and know their place in the flock. The broody protects them or helps them avoid the bossy hens. It sounds like you might have left it too late to integrate them and she may no longer be prepared to give them protection.

 

[Krazyquilts]

You didn't notice it last night, but when DID you notice it today? I just had a baby get scalped just two days ago. Thing is I suspect aerial predator, seems like wrong location for rats. My mama is not picking on her baby at all and it's sticking close by, behavior of said baby and mum can tell you a LOT. And I didn't notice it the previous night either but around 10 am. Maybe I just didn't see it when I let them out but I don't think so. Like it was fresh... must have been yesterday come to think of it because today it is a different color more peachy then red.

It definitely happened during the night because the chick was fine around 9 pm when I closed their coop up and my husband immediately noticed the bloody flayed back when he was opening the coop up for the day around 8:30 am.

 

[Krazyquilts]

Any of my mom hens would flip their lid if you tried to add unknown chicks that were not on the SAME day (regardless of age). But at two weeks old, that was a self imposed risk and as far as I am concerned not the fault of the hen.

Incidentally my broody's will peck away other chicks... BUT they will ALSO come to thump me a good one if I mess with those chicks! Like when the other mom is teaching babes how to get back inside the coop but not all make it so I go assist them.

Agreed. I have good luck with another hen, a Golden Comet we named Ms. Broody because boy was she, who took two week old babies in with her just hatched ones. She also mothered them all until they were almost completely full size! It was so cute watching them still trying to sleep under her. I do realize that she is the exception not the norm. If I do try to get a hen to except other chicks in the future, (not Silkie Mama, obviously!) I won't leave them in with her at night until after a few days of supervised day visits.

 

[True Patriot]

The advice others have given about the mother and behavior has been well covered so I'll limit myself to the coop. How are the windows fastened to the wall? Plastic is notorious for having screws pull out. Grab each corner and give a tug. They may be loose enough for something to get in. Better method would be to drill all the way through window frame and wall then use bolts and nuts to hold. Less likely to come loose. Check the same with the wall panels and especially the door. Those sheds are built to be aesthetically pleasing, not secure. If you close the door and can pull open a crack some predators will fit through. I don't doubt the advice that's already posted. Just giving another point of view.

 

[Krazyquilts]

I want to thank each and every one who has posted - this site is such an awesome, caring, helpful community and I am glad to be a part of it.

First, an update on the chick: "she" is doing well and repeatedly bit me last night while I was checking her wounds, which I take to be a good sign. Lots of life left in the little one. I currently have her in a separate brooder with both a heat lamp and a cool area so she can choose where she wants to be. I also put in a small cardboard box so she could "hide" in it and feel secure and she really likes hanging out in there. I did see some feed crumbs in her beak last night but I haven't actually witnessed her eating or drinking. There's NutriDrench in her water too. She did not touch the scrambled eggs.

FlyingNunFarm came over today to bring me some hen aprons (my Orpington rooster just can't help himself - his hens are just too pretty!) and helped me out with the flayed chick. Kimberly washed her off, sprayed her with Vetericyn and liberally sprinkled sugar on the area missing skin. The chick seems really tired since then but I'm hoping she will perk up tomorrow. Her wound does not appear to be inflamed, oozing or puss-like.

I will try to keep posting regular updates on her progress and I'll try to get some updated pics tonight when my husband gets home.

As far as the rest of it goes, I am very much leaning towards the belief that Silkie Mama did it. Last night, we closed off that coop so that the rest of the chicks couldn't go in it. As it started getting toward bedtime, we found the rest of the chicks huddled together as close to that coop as they could get. Silkie Mama had put herself to bed in the big coop with the other chickens and ducks. We put a large dog crate in the big coop and put the chicks in that for the night. I'll probably have them in the dog crate at night for a few more nights and then see how they do.

The odd thing is that this is the third Mama we've had use the small coop and each time, at a certain age, each Mama hen has decided, "Now is the time for the chicks to be out during the day with the rest of the flock" but still had them sleep with her in the small coop for a while before deciding, "Now is the time for us to all sleep in the big coop with the rest of the flock at night" and finally, "I'm not your mama anymore - don't sleep under me!" Up until last night when I separated them, Silkie Mama had still been having the chicks sleep with her in the small coop, and not just with her but under her too. You'd think that if she didn't want them with her anymore, then she would have just gone off and moved her sleeping arrangements to the big coop.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

then she would have just gone off and moved her sleeping arrangements to the big coop.

Yes, i would in addition to believing that takes an awful lot of pecking to get that bad and the Silkie should have been sleeping in the dark.

Something doesn't add up exactly...

Why sugar on the area missing skin? Honey, I get because of the humectant and antibacterial properties. But never heard sugar. Glad you had help! Thanks for the update.

 

[Krazyquilts]

Yes, i would in addition to believing that takes an awful lot of pecking to get that bad and the Silkie should have been sleeping in the dark.

Something doesn't add up exactly...

It is fully light here by 6 am and the chickens are already awake etc so I assume sometime in between sun up and 8:30 am when my husband opened up their coop is when Silkie Mama did it. 2-3 hours would have been plenty of time.

Why sugar on the area missing skin? Honey, I get because of the humectant and antibacterial properties. But never heard sugar. Glad you had help! Thanks for the update.

Here's the link about her using sugar that is in FlyingNunFarm's signature: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/yikes-large-wound-on-hen.1141144/#post-17736677

I'm hesitant to use honey in this situation because we do have flies so honey might actually attract them to the chick's wound. But theoretically the sugar should form a scab-like crust and help protect the wound in addition to giving the new tissue something to grip to.