I have had chickens for many years but usually don't have more than one hatching of chicks at a time...until now... I have one hen that hatched 13 chicks and the other hatched 4. I believe I made a terrible mistake by assuming that just because the hens were raised together that they would be okay with cohabitating with their chicks. The past 24 hours have been trying, to say the least. I have never penned my babies up before but we didn't have the dog we have now before. He's a bird dog and try as he might his natural instincts sometimes get him in trouble. So, we have Mama's and babies penned up...but those little buggars will find the teeniest hole that they can slip through.
I noticed that one mother (who has 4 black chicks) seriously dislikes the 4 yellow chicks of the other hen. I have caught her pecking at them and this afternoon I went out and found one laying in the grass in shock. She had tore a hole through the skin on it's back and both of it's eyes had blood around them.
I have the chick in the house as I have found that the best cure for shock is constant human touch. I used vetricyn on it's back wound and have washed both of its eyes. I cannot tell if the eyes are injured but it keeps one eye closed more than the other. I put Bacitracin on the eye to keep it from crusting over. It is drinking when I offer it water and is cheeping and will stand. I hope to return it to it's mother tomorrow.
I have separated the two little flocks...guess work on which black chick belongs to whom. Is this normal for a hen to attempt to kill another's chicks?
I noticed that one mother (who has 4 black chicks) seriously dislikes the 4 yellow chicks of the other hen. I have caught her pecking at them and this afternoon I went out and found one laying in the grass in shock. She had tore a hole through the skin on it's back and both of it's eyes had blood around them.
I have the chick in the house as I have found that the best cure for shock is constant human touch. I used vetricyn on it's back wound and have washed both of its eyes. I cannot tell if the eyes are injured but it keeps one eye closed more than the other. I put Bacitracin on the eye to keep it from crusting over. It is drinking when I offer it water and is cheeping and will stand. I hope to return it to it's mother tomorrow.
I have separated the two little flocks...guess work on which black chick belongs to whom. Is this normal for a hen to attempt to kill another's chicks?
hopefully the mama that doesn't like yellow chicks never hatches one by mistake. Hope your little pulls through, poor little thing. If it does, you'd better name it Lucky!
