Hen pecking on her babies

[checkingon]

Hi! There are wild chickens where we live but most of the neighbors and I don't mind having them around. A couple of days ago, I saw a hen with 7 of her babies. They all seemed healthy and happy. This evening before laying down, she had only three left. She was pecking on them. And I saw her grab at least two of them and threw them. Poor chicks seemed helpless but they kept on following their mother. They are really young - maybe only a week old. At the rate the mother is treating them, I don't think they will survive. She doesn't seem to want them around, why? They are still so very young and cannot fend for themselves. We rarely get to see these chickens as they move around all day.

 

[DTchickens]

you will probably see that a lot in chickens. some hens make great mothers. others dont.. only thing to let those chicks live is to take them from her.

 

[checkingon]

Sometimes it hurts me to see these things happen and if only I could save every chicken or animal out there. I told myself, if things happen in front of me and if I could do something about it, I will. If not, life will take its course. Thank you for your feedback. I appreciate your advice and suggestions - it helps me to understand better.