Hen killing day old chicks

[Mimi13]

I have let a broody raise chicks once. I kept them in their own enclosure in my run for about 10-12 days. Momma hen then started venturing into the run with them amongst the other birds. I did have a safe zone set up that the chicks could run to if needed. Momma hen couldn’t follow them there though. However, they mostly stayed with her since they hatched in the middle of winter.

I don’t know where you live and how cold it gets there, but I hope the little Showgirl doesn’t suffer from the cold as she gets older. Since they have no feathers under their wings her bare body skin may be exposed to the elements with no wing to cover it. I say she, but I guess that’s not known just yet. Also, if the chick is a she I wonder how her missing a wing will affect a rooster treading. I’m assuming you have a rooster since you are brooding chickies.

 

[Wiccadwitch]

I have let a broody raise chicks once. I kept them in their own enclosure in my run for about 10-12 days. Momma hen then started venturing into the run with them amongst the other birds. I did have a safe zone set up that the chicks could run to if needed. Momma hen couldn’t follow them there though. However, they mostly stayed with her since they hatched in the middle of winter.


I don’t know where you live and how cold it gets there, but I hope the little Showgirl doesn’t suffer from the cold as she gets older. Since they have no feathers under their wings her bare body skin may be exposed to the elements with no wing to cover it. I say she, but I guess that’s not known just yet. Also, if the chick is a she I wonder how her missing a wing will affect a rooster treading. I’m assuming you have a rooster since you are brooding chickies.

I live in arizona down in the valley so it stays fairly temperate.
With my broody hens in the past I've had no issues just letting them hatch their chicks and raise them amongst the rest of the flock so this incident was a bit of a shock for me.
I may look into rehoming where there are no roosters just to avoid the poor thing getting hurt if it is a hen. Also someone who may have a heating setup in their coop or something so it can keep warm more easily. It really just depends how things go. I could even look into modifying something like a hen saddle into a jacket type cover for that side. I'll start looking into such things once I know it's going to make it for sure. Birds have a habit of hiding illness right up til they are about gone so it can be hard to really know how well one is doing. All the usual signs still look good though. No inflammation at the wound site, normal poops, eating and drinking, active etc..
Hopefully that continues.
I dont know gender yet. Kinda hope it's a hen just because if in the event I find I have to rehome it a hen will be way easier than a rooster.
Oh also this chick is a mix not just show girl it also has some other stuff mixed in. Likely rhode island red and/or Easter egger I'm not sure because unfortunately I did not see whose egg it hatched from and there were eggs from 3 different hens in the batch I had under that hen.

 

[Shadrach]

It's not a great thing to be dealing with.
There is a piece of advice that doesn't often get mentioned and while it's too late now, the advice is don't let pullets or junior hens sit unless you are prepared to keep them separate from the flock as they sit and hatch.
You will as you gain more experience get to know which hens are able to defend their nest and chicks from more senior hens. As far as the senior hens are concerned they should be furthering the gene pool; they got to be senior for a reason.
Senior hens here try to prevent junior hens mating with their rooster and the above is part of the reason.

 

[Wiccadwitch]

It's not a great thing to be dealing with.
There is a piece of advice that doesn't often get mentioned and while it's too late now, the advice is don't let pullets or junior hens sit unless you are prepared to keep them separate from the flock as they sit and hatch.
You will as you gain more experience get to know which hens are able to defend their nest and chicks from more senior hens. As far as the senior hens are concerned they should be furthering the gene pool; they got to be senior for a reason.
Senior hens here try to prevent junior hens mating with their rooster and the above is part of the reason.

Thank you! This really was not something I was aware of. Lesson learned for sure. I just wish the cost of my education had not been so high. Poor little chicks. I really appreciate the info.

 

[Shadrach]

Don't be too hard on yourself. Quite rightly having a broody is exciting and everyone loves chicks.
While this may seem very harsh, better dead chicks than a dead broody hen.
It's also important to realise that some broody hens are chick killers. I have one here. I just don't let her sit.

 

[aart]

Sounds like the young inexperienced broody was not able to fight off the other flock members. I've only had a few broodies hatch out, but some are much better at finding their place in the flock after they bring the chicks off the nest.
Wondering if the hen that killed the chicks has been present when other broodies had chicks?

 

[Mimi13]

As far as the senior hens are concerned they should be furthering the gene pool; they got to be senior for a reason.
Senior hens here try to prevent junior hens mating with their rooster and the above is part of the reason.

Okay, now this is cool to know. And of course it’s nature at her best.

 

[microchick]

I've even had experienced broodies waffle stomp newly hatched chicks in their zest to protect their broods. In the perfect world, things like this shouldn't happen but unfortunately this isn't the world called perfect so please do not beat yourself up. We all have been there and done that in one form or another.

You did the right thing by removing the 'killer hen' from your flock. And it sounds as though the new owner is aware of her tendencies. If a hen in my flock, be her a new broody or an old hand at it, kills a chick, she is banded with a red zip tie and never allowed to set eggs again.

When you decide to set eggs again, consider having a special area for your broodies away from the flock where they don't have to compete with other hens for possession of the eggs/hens trading nests and fights for possession of the chicks once they begin to hatch. Then once hatched an area away from the flock where mom and chicks are undisturbed. I usually let mom and chicks in with the rest of the flock when the chicks are fully fledged around 4 weeks. That way they have a chance to mature, get some size to them and have the ability to get out of the way if trouble pops up.

I have to commend you for operating on the show girl. Glad to hear that she is doing well. Congratulations on your first broody hatching, and condolences on the losses. Trust me, it does get easier but it takes vigilance.

 

[Pennys Mama]

I have had backyard chickens for over a year now. I've naturally brooded virtually all eggs ( barring unforeseen complications) under broody hens. All of these hens have been fierce protective mothers and I've been able to leave them among the rest of the flock from the moment of hatch. Yesterday one of my youngest hens hatched out her first brood. 6 chicks total. This morning I was out back when I noticed one chick having difficulty staying with the group. I approached and saw a severely injured wing. Clearly the chick had been attacked. I brought it inside and did what I could. Its wrapped and safe but honestly i cant say whether it will live but even if it does that wing is probably going to be useless. Anyway after chick triage I went back outside to check on everyone and get some chick starter for my little invalid when I saw that mama hen was down another chick. I started looking around when I finally saw one of my oldest hens with the missing chick in her beak. She had been pecking at it and picked it up and run away with it when I approached. The body was pretty mangled. I'm certain she killed it and was responsible for the other chicks injury. I think my new mom just wasn't fierce enough in protecting her babies and my most senior and aggressive hen took advantage of that.
At this point since my older hen has killed a chick should I get rid if her? I worry that much like egg eaters once started they will continue to do it and possibly get other chickens involved. I've removed the killer hen from the flock and I've got mom and remaining chicks in a bin while I figure out next steps . Any suggestions would be appreciated. I've never dealt with anything like this so I'm in completely uncharted territory here.

How did you remove the wing?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

We had a hen missing a wing, she did fine. Have no idea how she lost it, it was well healed over when she came to us that way in a small flock of about eight mixed hens and we didn't even notice it for months. The rooster didn't seem to have any difficulty and didn't hurt her, he just gripped her shoulder, which is what he would do anyway, right?