Broody hen killed almost all her chicks! I am so mad!

[Kanchii]

Sounds like she doesn't know how to be gentle!

This little girl I met at a poultry show was telling me about this one time they let their big standard buff orpinton hatch some bantam OEG eggs and when they went to go check if they'd hatched they found a few "chick pancakes" from the mom sitting on them!

 

[perfectly_polish]

Quote:
Yes she is a first timer. If she ever does go broody again I may give her one more chance with some mix breed eggs and see how it goes.

 

[Chickndaddy]

Sorry about the babies. I had a Rhode Island Red that scalped all of her babies. The broody Salmon Faverolle in the next pen over must have just been frantic trying to get to the little peepers. When I found them, there were only two left out in the middle of the Rhode Island Red yard and if they so much as peeped the RIR hen would run across the pen and peck them real good and walk back over to join the flock. The SF hen's breast feathers looked horrible from running up and down the fenceline. It's a hundred wonders she didn't crush her own brood of 16 in the process. I never let her set again.

 

[ksacres]

Did I read correctly??

YOU incubated the eggs, then gave her back chicks that YOU hatched in the incubator??

Or did she hatch them and now you are brooding them?

 

[perfectly_polish]

Quote:
She had eggs, 12 all together, she cracked 5 the first week and then as the other were pipping she killed them. I had eggs in the incubator hatching at the same time so I gave her them after they hatched, everything seemed fine for about a week and then this happened.

 

[hcammack]

I would not expect this out of an orph and RIR maybe a polish maybe. I think sometimes hens get confused and think that there own babies are like mice or something trying to get to their chicks.

I would eat her

I am hoping to start a small breeding project and I should get a few broodies next year I have SF's , Marans, and True ameraucana all supposedly from very broody lines.

Henry

 

[perfectly_polish]

Quote:
Well polish never go broody so there is no chance of that happening. If she ever goes broody again I may give her one more shot at it. But if this happens again it's the stew pot for her.

 

[hcammack]

Good Plan LOL I am just saying polish get kinda confused sometimes LOL if I had hairdo like that covering my eyes I am sure I would to LOL

 

[smom1976]

do polish really never go broody? I was hoping to have at least one broody hen to hatch some eggs but 5 of my 16 are polish.. that would lower my chances..

 

[perfectly_polish]

Quote:
Nope polish never go broody. What other breeds do you have? You could have one of them hatch out some polish eggs, it doesn't have to be the same breed as the broody.