Hen stomped 2 of her baby chicks

[Mania]

Hello, I inherited my grandma's chickens and 2 roosters. I know the basics of hatching baby chicks - how to recognise a broody hen, how to care for her and all.. We've got 2 broody hens this year and the first one's eggs were supposed to hatch yesterday. I heard chirping and saw one baby chick peek from under the hen. I remember my grandma used to take the hatched chicks and she kept them in a warm box until all hatched. I thought it's ok to leave the hatched chicks with the mom while she sits on the remaining eggs, but this morning I lifted her and found 2 baby chicks dead. They were almost completely dry, but looked like she stepped on them and killed them. There is only one chick left and I listened to the remaining 4 eggs - they were quiet. I cracked them open and there were 2 small dead embryos.

My question is, what did I do wrong? I feel like I should've taken the hatched baby chicks away from the hen, like my grandma used to do.. is the hen a bad mom when she sat on the chicks and killed them?
I want to know so I can do better when the other broody hen will have babies.

Here's a picture of the hen with her only child.

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi, and welcome to BYC!

Sorry for your loss. Normally, chicks are left with their mom, but this can sometimes happen with new hens. They almost always get better their second round.

The ones dead in the egg probably happened as she either had too many eggs or she wasn't pulling them under her, another newbie mom mistake.

 

[Altairsky]

You did nothing wrong. Sometimes these things happen, I'm sure next time it'll go better.

 

[Mania]

Thank you for your kind words. I have no idea if she ever had chicks before, but I put only 8 eggs under her. I have to admit I didn't candle the eggs so some were just bad.

Now I am a little bit anxious about the second broody hen. She started sitting on the eggs on April 25th, she's got 10 eggs. I am thinking about candling the eggs although I've never done it before. I am a bit scared that I may throw away good eggs. I am also thinking about staying at home on the day they'll be hatching and I'll probably take away the hatched babies. I don't want to lose more chicks due to accidents like this.

 

[Altairsky]

The less you touch, the better. Sometimes hens mess up because we stress them too much while they sit.

 

[Altairsky]

Also, let the broody raise her chicks. Chicks die all the time, both under a hen and in a brooder. It's normal and part of life, and we must accept this when we decide to let animals reproduce. It's what nature is.

 

[Mountain Roost]

I agree that once we give them to the broody we should let it be. BUT, if you really want to candle them you can wait for her to go eat and poo and candle until she returns. My rule with candling is if its got a life like mass it it I keep it. The only ones I discard are clear eggs and blood rings. Removing any clearly bad eggs will give the rest room, especially at hatch.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Life is a risk, no matter what you do. It is possible chicks could die if you leave them under her, whether she kills them or they die from other reasons. It is possible they will die if you remove them. It is possible she may kill a chick or destroy an egg defending her nest against you taking a chick out. If you take them out she may not accept them if you try to give them back. Lots of different things could possibly happen.

The less you touch, the better. Sometimes hens mess up because we stress them too much while they sit.

I agree. I think your best chances for success are to leave her alone with the chicks. This does not mean you did anything wrong or were responsible. Sometimes things just happen. I understand you are felling really bad right now and do not want to see this again, but I really think your best chances are to trust this broody.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

you said you have two broody hens but you didn’t specify if they are together or separated. One broody will often try to steal eggs/chicks from another. The ensuing fight can easily kill chicks

 

[Mania]

you said you have two broody hens but you didn’t specify if they are together or separated. One broody will often try to steal eggs/chicks from another. The ensuing fight can easily kill chicks

Ah, sorry I didn't mention that. The first broody was in a "broody coop", so she was separated from the rest of the flock (although the chicken can still roam around her coop - it's in an orchard behind the barn in which chicken sleep and we let them into the orchard during the day).

Unfortunately, I don't have another broody coop for the second one, so I made her a private space in the barn. I also lift the cage and let her go out to eat, poop and dust bath. I am pretty sure the first broody that killed the chicks had a peaceful place to sit, so I don't think the cause of the accident was stress.

I really hope the second broody's makeshift home will be ok for her and that she'll have more success hatching the 10 eggs I gave her.