Chicks getting stuck to hen and dying

[Debbie292d]

If anyone found the answer to this I would like to know. I just had it happen..twice in a row. Same clutch. Silkie too. I'm down to two chicks and I have them in an outside brooder with a heat plate as well until I can figure it out or the grow. So far I've lost 2 in two nights and literally had to cut the feathers from the Hen they were so stuck to remove the carcasses in the morning. Never seen anything like it before but can't do it again.

Welcome to BYC!!

I'm so sorry for your loss.

I have never had this happen nor have I ever heard of this happening. Did she not pluck her underside?

None of my hens have "feathers" on their underside because they are constantly going broody. Their bottom sides are all almost bare.

If your silky mother hen isn't plucking her underside, I would trim it by an inch or two. Go all the way to nearly her butt. Maybe she was a new mom and didn't figure that part out. Next time you have one sitting on eggs, prior to hatch day I would check her to see if she plucked.

Good luck!

 

[Debbie292d]

Thank you to @Wyorp Rock for tagging me to help and hope I did.

 

[Lcmays]

Thank you. I decided to keep them in the brooder. I rarely use brooders because so far my silkie mama's have been phenomenal and I hate having heat lights outside. They are in a separate area of the coop so no adult can fly uo on their heat light and so far the 2 remaining are doing good. Fingers crossed. I just am too afraid ot will happen again to put them back with mom.

 

[Lcmays]

Grameat advice on the underside. No she only had partway plucked. I just looked at her and yep it was her first clutch! Thank you! I'll for sure be looking for that next time.

 

[Cwakdan]

This just happened to my Silkie hen and chick, last night was all good and this morning found one chick stuck to hens hair almost upside down hanging dead. The chick was very tangled had to pull him out and wasn’t and easy pull.

 

[Jkbaca]

This just happened to my Silkie hen and chick, last night was all good and this morning found one chick stuck to hens hair almost upside down hanging dead. The chick was very tangled had to pull him out and wasn’t and easy pull.

This happened to me, too, but with a Wyandotte. One got stuck on day 2, and I freed it and thought it was a freak thing. This morning, I lost one. It was horrible! In the panic, the poor baby loat its leg and died. I'm devastated. I had to cut the little leg from mama's feathers. I cut her feathers way back. I can't deal with that again.