Hen killed one of my chicks!

[Cornishboyraptor]

She is a RUNT and the "mother" hen might have killed it thinking it was sick since it is a RUNT

Well. I've seen this particular hen pick on the chick a lot and the chick didnt look I'll. She would sneeze often but I think it's just the cold and she didnt get as much feathers as the others.

 

[Cornishboyraptor]

My runt chick died too and there was no injures was there any injuries on yours? If not he may have just died like im assuming mine did

I'm sorry to hear that.I saw blood on the side of her neck.

 

[TheDuckGuy]

Was she stepped and the claw sliced her neck maybe? I think mine might have froze to death since the hen might have been busy

 

[Cornishboyraptor]

Was she stepped and the claw sliced her neck maybe? I think mine might have froze to death since the hen might have been busy

Well maybe. I've seen this hen peck at the runt into the air by its wing multiple times.

 

[rosemarythyme]

No a different hen in the flock.

Hmm, sorry to hear about that. It's possible that if the mother wasn't diligent enough in protecting it or the other hen was aggressive enough that it could've killed it, because the chick was still new to the flock and also the weakest of the three. Really it should be up to the mother to provide protection from the flock, but since she's having to reintegrate to the flock and the chicks are on the older side, she might have been thinking of weaning them already, so her protective instincts weren't as high.

 

[CaliFarmsAR]

@Poultrybonkers why did you put a funny face? This is not funny someone just lost a pet!!!!

 

[Cornishboyraptor]

Hmm, sorry to hear about that. It's possible that if the mother wasn't diligent enough in protecting it or the other hen was aggressive enough that it could've killed it, because the chick was still new to the flock and also the weakest of the three. Really it should be up to the mother to provide protection from the flock, but since she's having to reintegrate to the flock and the chicks are on the older side, she might have been thinking of weaning them already, so her protective instincts weren't as high.

Is there anything I can do to prevent this from happening again?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Is there anything I can do to prevent this from happening again?

Possible things to consider: only let higher ranked, mature hens hatch out (as they're less likely to put up with any possible bullying of themselves and their brood) and integrate the hen and babies back into the flock much earlier, when the hen's protective instincts are at their peak.