Bad mama hen?

[Farmerharry]

Hello all,

One of my Serama hens hatched 8 chicks which are now two weeks old. The chicks are doing well and they seem to be healthy. However, recently I’ve been noticing a trend that my chicks are always in the corner of the brooding area. My brooding area is connected to my main coop where my other hen and roo can see them but I sealed it off with some netting so they can’t touch the chicks. The brooding area is about 6 square feet for now. They were running around just 5 days ago, digging in the sand and eating worms, but now they just huddle in a corner. My mama hen is very very aggressive towards me, even getting within 2 feet of the chicks would serve me a flying drop kick, but she never hurt the chicks before. Now, even when the chicks are huddled together and I’m not there, she likes to peck them on the head. And it’s not once or twice, it’s continuously 5-7 times to whoever is unlucky to be there.

I just wanted to ask if this is normal or should I take some action and remove the mama from the chicks? Thanks for the help.

Update:
While typing this I heard the chicks screaming and I separated the mama in to the main coop, she can still see the chicks, but can’t peck them anymore.

 

[FamilyFarm12]

Sometimes, mama hens don’t accept the chicks. I’m not expert though. Hope you get better answers! And good idea separating her.

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

I guess your chicks have a new mama!

Yes, it's unfortunate, but there are bad baby's mamas, in the animal world too.

 

[HuskerHens18]

I had this happen too, the mama hen decided she was done with them. Just get the chicks a heat lamp if you haven't already and they should be old enough to know how to eat and drink from the feeders

 

[Farmerharry]

I had this happen too, the mama hen decided she was done with them. Just get the chicks a heat lamp if you haven't already and they should be old enough to know how to eat and drink from the feeders

Okay thanks, the weather is about 31c (88f) and at night it drops to about 25c (77f). Is a heat lamp necessary? My neighbour doesn’t use one for his chicks and they are 3 weeks old.

 

[HuskerHens18]

During week 1 they should be under 95°F (32°C). Then every week you drop the tempature a little until it is room temperature, whatever that may be. Since they are 2 weeks old it's close, but I would suggest turning a heat lamp on at night at least.
If they have a mother hen they can cuddle up to her, but since they can't now they might get cold. Do they appear to be huddling since you took the mama away?

 

[Farmerharry]

During week 1 they should be under 95°F (32°C). Then every week you drop the tempature a little until it is room temperature, whatever that may be. Since they are 2 weeks old it's close, but I would suggest turning a heat lamp on at night at least.
If they have a mother hen they can cuddle up to her, but since they can't now they might get cold. Do they appear to be huddling since you took the mama away?

They weren’t huddling because they were feeling cold I’d say. The mama hen is just behind the netting so I think instinctively the chicks would be running up and down trying to get to her, making them look huddled up. But I put the mama back in after an hour and now they seem to be okay. I am keeping a close eye though and if t happens again, I think i’ll Remove her for good. For the heat lamp, I think i’ll Put it in if I have to remove the mama, better to be safe than sorry. Thanks for your help!

 

[HuskerHens18]

No problem! I hope the mama hen will be nicer to them! Good luck