Chicken killing own chicks

[SilkySilkie]

Hey all been a while since I’ve been on here but recently my young Sussex became broody for the first time and I was hesitant to let her hatch out chicks at first but then decided to anyways, in the first days she wasn’t sitting how I would’ve liked but it was alright this is when she either accidentally cracked her eggs or purposely did so to eat them which is very confusing because she’s in a separate coop with food and water present at all times so she’s didn’t crack them because she was hungry. She had cracked and cannibalised about 3 eggs in the first week I switched out the box she was sitting in for a bigger one in case she didn’t know how to manage due to it being her first hatch.

Fast forward to today I woke up to a dead chick very far away from her nesting box. My theory was the chick had pipped at night and hen must’ve had some memory of eating eggs prior and decided to eat it? The shell was gone with the exception of the cord connecting a little piece of shell to the dead chick, the chick looked like it had absorbed the yolk sack or it could’ve been the hen.

I brought her inside the garage to monitor her and keep her in a dark place to avoid her getting into her eggs but someone had left the light on for a bit without me realising which was very annoying. I checked her eggs and she had absolutely crushed 2 of the eggs that were pipping like the entire shells were crushed and gone idk where it went but now it’s just the thick white sack with the chick inside, it seems like she did perhaps use her beak to poke one of the eggs and it caused minor bleeding but I can’t see too well if the damage was fatal or not.

Any advice is appreciated if anyone else has gone through the same situation although it may be too late, I don’t have an incubator or any other broody hens right now. I’ve had many broody hens hatch out chicks and none of them have ever done this.

Edit: The 2 chicks mentioned here have died but keeping the hen in darkness stopped her from eating the shells off which allowed 2 other eggs to successfully hatch. Hen most likely isn’t the best broody hen so she won’t get to hatch out anymore eggs

 

[DemeterAD9]

Sounds like she’s just a bad mom. I honestly haven’t been in the chicken game all that long, only a couple years, but I’ve not had problems with my first time broodies. The two I let hatch eggs did wonderfully though they both had one chick die after hatching due to other things (one drowned and one got separated from mom).

It could also be she is just clumsy and cracked eggs on accident, which led her to eat them as a way of cleaning up the mess. Not sure why she thinks she needs to do the same to the hatching eggs. If the dead chick was fully formed then the other eggs should be ready to hatch. I’d probably remove the two membrane eggs and try saving the chicks. I don’t think they will be able to hatch now since the membrane is likely to dry and get too tough for them. You can brush some warm water on the membrane to make it more transparent, see if the yolk and blood is absorbed before helping.

If you choose to let her raise any chicks that hatch make sure you keep an eye on her and be ready to remove them and brood them yourself. It also wouldn’t be a bad idea to invest in a cheap incubator for any future situation like this.

 

[McChooky]

Hey all been a while since I’ve been on here but recently my young Sussex became broody for the first time and I was hesitant to let her hatch out chicks at first but then decided to anyways, in the first days she wasn’t sitting how I would’ve liked but it was alright this is when she either accidentally cracked her eggs or purposely did so to eat them which is very confusing because she’s in a separate coop with food and water present at all times so she’s didn’t crack them because she was hungry. She had cracked and cannibalised about 3 eggs in the first week I switched out the box she was sitting in for a bigger one in case she didn’t know how to manage due to it being her first hatch.

Fast forward to today I woke up to a dead chick very far away from her nesting box. My theory was the chick had pipped at night and hen must’ve had some memory of eating eggs prior and decided to eat it? The shell was gone with the exception of the cord connecting a little piece of shell to the dead chick, the chick looked like it had absorbed the yolk sack or it could’ve been the hen.

I brought her inside the garage to monitor her and keep her in a dark place to avoid her getting into her eggs but someone had left the light on for a bit without me realising which was very annoying. I checked her eggs and she had absolutely crushed 2 of the eggs that were pipping like the entire shells were crushed and gone idk where it went but now it’s just the thick white sack with the chick inside, it seems like she did perhaps use her beak to poke one of the eggs and it caused minor bleeding but I can’t see too well if the damage was fatal or not.

Any advice is appreciated if anyone else has gone through the same situation although it may be too late, I don’t have an incubator or any other broody hens right now. I’ve had many broody hens hatch out chicks and none of them have ever done this.

Too small a nest or Rats can cause them to crush or break the eggs.
Any chicken will eat a broken egg or dead chick. Why she would peck the shell off the chick is beyond me.My broody was at least 3 yrs old before I let her hatch any (she raised all 5) Maybe she is too young?

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

I brought her inside the garage to monitor her and keep her in a dark place to avoid her getting into her eggs but someone had left the light on for a bit without me realising which was very annoying.

Does this mean you separated her from the eggs, or does it just mean you left her on the eggs and tried to keep her in darkness?

 

[McChooky]

Hey all been a while since I’ve been on here but recently my young Sussex became broody for the first time and I was hesitant to let her hatch out chicks at first but then decided to anyways, in the first days she wasn’t sitting how I would’ve liked but it was alright this is when she either accidentally cracked her eggs or purposely did so to eat them which is very confusing because she’s in a separate coop with food and water present at all times so she’s didn’t crack them because she was hungry. She had cracked and cannibalised about 3 eggs in the first week I switched out the box she was sitting in for a bigger one in case she didn’t know how to manage due to it being her first hatch.

Fast forward to today I woke up to a dead chick very far away from her nesting box. My theory was the chick had pipped at night and hen must’ve had some memory of eating eggs prior and decided to eat it? The shell was gone with the exception of the cord connecting a little piece of shell to the dead chick, the chick looked like it had absorbed the yolk sack or it could’ve been the hen.

I brought her inside the garage to monitor her and keep her in a dark place to avoid her getting into her eggs but someone had left the light on for a bit without me realising which was very annoying. I checked her eggs and she had absolutely crushed 2 of the eggs that were pipping like the entire shells were crushed and gone idk where it went but now it’s just the thick white sack with the chick inside, it seems like she did perhaps use her beak to poke one of the eggs and it caused minor bleeding but I can’t see too well if the damage was fatal or not.

Any advice is appreciated if anyone else has gone through the same situation although it may be too late, I don’t have an incubator or any other broody hens right now. I’ve had many broody hens hatch out chicks and none of them have ever done this.

"Recently my young Sussex became broody for the first time and I was hesitant to let her hatch out chicks at first but then decided to anyways"

My guess is shes too young.Sorry!

 

[Not-so Slick Chicken]

First time broodies, especially pullets, kind of get a pass. Some birds really just shouldn't be trusted with a nest or chicks. But sometimes it's just they didn't know the first time, so things happen.

"There's this thing moving underneath me- is it a mouse?!"

"I think I'm supposed to dispose of the shell so pests aren't attracted to my nest *accidentally gets chick, as well*"

"I left my nest, and there were no chicks. Now there is a chick! That's not mine!"

"That chick left the nest... I can't leave my eggs... so I can't take care of that chick"

"I only want this chick that hatched and no longer care about these eggs left"

"Actually, I'm not broody now. Same time next week"

 

[SilkySilkie]

Too small a nest or Rats can cause them to crush or break the eggs.
Any chicken will eat a broken egg or dead chick. Why she would peck the shell off the chick is beyond me.My broody was at least 3 yrs old before I let her hatch any (she raised all 5) Maybe she is too young?

Yes this is why I decided to move her nest to a bigger place, rats outside could also be a reason but it’s when she sees the pipped egg she eats the shell off of it very strange I’ve had young hens hatch out just fine, she just may not be cut out for the job unfortunately

 

[SilkySilkie]

Does this mean you separated her from the eggs, or does it just mean you left her on the eggs and tried to keep her in darkness?

I don’t have any other heat sources except for a heat lamp to keep the chicks warm not for any eggs so I left her in darkness which definitely helped her not eat the shells off of the eggs and give the chicks a chance

 

[SilkySilkie]

Sounds like she’s just a bad mom. I honestly haven’t been in the chicken game all that long, only a couple years, but I’ve not had problems with my first time broodies. The two I let hatch eggs did wonderfully though they both had one chick die after hatching due to other things (one drowned and one got separated from mom).

It could also be she is just clumsy and cracked eggs on accident, which led her to eat them as a way of cleaning up the mess. Not sure why she thinks she needs to do the same to the hatching eggs. If the dead chick was fully formed then the other eggs should be ready to hatch. I’d probably remove the two membrane eggs and try saving the chicks. I don’t think they will be able to hatch now since the membrane is likely to dry and get too tough for them. You can brush some warm water on the membrane to make it more transparent, see if the yolk and blood is absorbed before helping.

If you choose to let her raise any chicks that hatch make sure you keep an eye on her and be ready to remove them and brood them yourself. It also wouldn’t be a bad idea to invest in a cheap incubator for any future situation like this.

Definitely have looked into incubators just can’t find the right one, the chick still hadn’t absorbed the yolk sack and was bleeding a fair bit and ended dying this morning also the one with the white membrane intact seemed to have been squashed. Certainly won’t ever let this hen hatch out anymore eggs after this

 

[BigBlueHen53]

She will keep the eggs plenty warm. No lamp needed.