Do hens clean their babies when they hatch??

[Kirkydoodledo]

I have a broody hen that is on day 19 of sitting. One of her eggs hatched today while she was off of the nest. When she heard the chick she came running back inside the coop and got back on the nest but when she was adjusting and realized there was an actual chick in there she started pecking at it and pulled some of its fuzz out. I took the chick and have it in a brooder now because I didn’t want her to hurt it. I was telling my mother in law about it and her friend who raises chickens said “oh the mom is just trying to clean it off. They do that.” I’ve never hatched eggs before but it didn’t look like she was trying to “clean it off” and the baby didn’t have anything stuck to it or anything it was just wet. I’ve never heard of a hen cleaning the baby when it hatches.. so my question is do hens really clean their babies when they hatch? I don’t want to take the babies from her for no reason but I don’t want her to hurt them either! And 3 other eggs are pipped right now and I’m going to worry all night that if they hatch before morning she may hurt them

 

[HuffleClaw]

Nope. Hens don’t "clean their babies" after they hatch. She is showing agressive behavior towards the chick...

 

[OhZark Biddies]

I have a broody hen that is on day 19 of sitting. One of her eggs hatched today while she was off of the nest. When she heard the chick she came running back inside the coop and got back on the nest but when she was adjusting and realized there was an actual chick in there she started pecking at it and pulled some of its fuzz out. I took the chick and have it in a brooder now because I didn’t want her to hurt it. I was telling my mother in law about it and her friend who raises chickens said “oh the mom is just trying to clean it off. They do that.” I’ve never hatched eggs before but it didn’t look like she was trying to “clean it off” and the baby didn’t have anything stuck to it or anything it was just wet. I’ve never heard of a hen cleaning the baby when it hatches.. so my question is do hens really clean their babies when they hatch? I don’t want to take the babies from her for no reason but I don’t want her to hurt them either! And 3 other eggs are pipped right now and I’m going to worry all night that if they hatch before morning she may hurt them

I had a first time momma hen hatch some chicks this year and the first two she kicked out of the nest box....so I brooded them for a day or two...

Long story short she took care of the third one that hatched with no issues... and then ended up taking back the first two and 8 more feed store chicks...

... she’s been an excellent momma hen to all 11 since... but it took her a bit to figure it out.

Yours might be similar... if you can keep an eye on her, you might be able to slip that chick back under her at night

...or do like I did where I put them in a cage next to her while she was still on her nest of remaining eggs and with the one chick under her... after an hour or so I gave her all the chicks and just watched her carefully for a short while.

 

[Chickassan]

If they are her first ones then what she's doing does happen sometimes. It is really like it takes a few hatching before her broody brain takes over again.
I've seen them attack or even flee from the new baby.