Hen wants to beat up chicks - what?

[trinityfly]

Hi, we have 7 Silkie chicks about 6 weeks old. They are really cute but one of the older hens seems like she would like to kill them. What"s up with that? The chicks hang with the 8 other silkies which includes a mellow Roo, no problem. But one hen (apparently a designated sitter) becomes agitated whenever the chicks enter the hen house, clucking and jerking her head around. Today I had taken the sitting hen out into the run to make sure she ate, drank and got some exercise but was still very agitated. When she saw the chick she made a run at them, chased them and pecked them. I grabbed her up and put her back into her nest.

I think there must be a natural cause for this behavior but am just guessing that the chicks have been disturbing her sitting torpor now she holds a grudge. What do you all think?

 

[gumpsgirl]

Chicks and hens don't generally go together unless it's the hen who hatched the chicks. I don't know if you can separate them or if you just want to remove the one hen. I think it's kind of odd that all the other ones are okay with chicks being in there with them unless it's just natural for the breed. If you choose to leave the chicks in with all of the others and remove the one hen, keep a close eye on all of the other ones to be sure they don't turn on the chicks too.