Broody is a killer 😞

[honeyb711]

For anyone who has seen my recent posts, everything seemed to have been going really well, Mumma has had the chicks out with the rest of the flock for over a week, I've been keeping a close eye on everyone, & there really had been no issues that I witnessed.

Yesterday, I left the house for the first full day since the chicks hatched...& one of the hens has killed one of the chicks...my favourite chick

I am so upset. I was already nervous, but I really trusted Mum knew what she was doing, & I just don't understand why my other hen done this...& what do I do with her now? I have obviously seperated Mum & baby again now, but Mum really wants to be with her flock, & I'm left not knowing what to do to keep this last chick safe. Do I let Mum back in with everyone & just bring the chick to raise inside for a few weeks until she bigger? Bring Mum inside with her? I'm worried if I move Mum away from the flock the reintroduction won't go well. Do I just remove the killer chicken & leave Mum & bub with the rest? How do I trust noone else will just suddenly kill this chick?

 

[ChasingChooks]

Oh dear, I'm so sorry! I have no experience with new moms and chicks, sorry I can't help you out.

 

[honeyb711]

Oh dear, I'm so sorry! I have no experience with new moms and chicks, sorry I can't help you out.

Thank you, I am honestly devastated. I know these things happen, but right now I cannot even look at the psycho, who is sitting on an invisible nest of eggs, because I keep removing them from under her (they are not fertile)

This was our first time ever hatching eggs, watching Mum with them the last 2weeks has been so so beautiful...& now I feel so bad for the remaining chick because Mum wants back with the group, but I am just terrified we will lose this last chick

 

[ChasingChooks]

Did you lose many? Or just this one? That's terrible. I have always wanted to hatch chicks sometime - but there are risks. I'm so sorry for you!

 

[honeyb711]

Did you lose many? Or just this one? That's terrible. I have always wanted to hatch chicks sometime - but there are risks. I'm so sorry for you!

Just the one. But we only hatched two.

 

[SueT]

I don’t ever let moms and their babies in with the flock until the chicks are at least a month old. The hen should be so invested in her babies that she doesn’t really care about anything else.

 

[No Coop No Problem]

Broody hens may be violent towards another's chicks, especially if they feel they're competing over resources. Even a mother hen may kill her own offspring if she feels they're defective somehow

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

I am sorry for your loss! It is better to keep a dam and her chicks separate from the flock until the chicks are old enough to not get easily bullied. Other hens may kill a dam's chicks because she feels that they are competition and a threat to her pecking order status. A dam will kill her own chick/s if she finds them to not meet her standards, which usually happens when a chick is showing signs of being weaker than the rest or having a deformity/visible health issue. In rare cases, a broody will just be crazy and hatch chicks only to immediately kill them for apparently no reason.

 

[honeyb711]

I don’t ever let moms and their babies in with the flock until the chicks are at least a month old. The hen should be so invested in her babies that she doesn’t really care about anything else.

I followed everyone else's advice on trusting Mum to know better than me. Pocahontus is a really great Mum, she has raised babies before coming to us, which was why we got her some eggs when she went broody. She had one chick safely back in the maternity coop & was quiet vocal about her missing chick, but thie chick that was killed ran in the opposite direction to Mum

Broody hens may be violent towards another's chicks, especially if they feel they're competing over resources. Even a mother hen may kill her own offspring if she feels they're defective somehow

I do realise there are risks, but followed the advice I felt was better than my own personal judgement. I did keep a close eye on everyone, but ultimately I let Mum make the choices on when she was ready to move them out with everyone else, I let her do it all, I have just watched from the sidelines.

I guess I'm upset I thought there would have been signs that someone was unhappy, & I could have kept them seperate longer as I originally thought was best. Instead, I didn't, & she just killed it without any warning

 

[honeyb711]

I am sorry for your loss! It is better to keep a dam and her chicks separate from the flock until the chicks are old enough to not get easily bullied. Other hens may kill a dam's chicks because she feels that they are competition and a threat to her pecking order status. A dam will kill her own chick/s if she finds them to not meet her standards, which usually happens when a chick is showing signs of being weaker than the rest or having a deformity/visible health issue. In rare cases, a broody will just be crazy and hatch chicks only to immediately kill them for apparently no reason.

Thankfully Mum has raised chicks before, & has been such a good Mum to these babies.

The broody who killed the chick, I was actually contemplating getting eggs for in the future, however I definitely won't be now, & I'm unsure if I will even keep her