How to prevent one mother hen from attacking chicks of another hen?

[janjan1]

I have two hens. Both have chicks. The one hen has 7 chicks that are one week old. The other hen has two chicks that are only two days old. The hen that has the 7 attacked the two day old chicks severely pecking the head of one chick, almost to death. When I saw this I immediately seperated them (hen & two little chicks) into a nice roomy cage for the night. All my chickens are free range and I have about 20 acres for them to roam around on, barn, house, woods, pastures & garden. They generally stay around the barn, gardens & house. How can I prevent this from happening again? I don't want to stand guard 24/7. This morning I placed the one hen with 2 chicks into a stall, closed the doors but kept the windows open. That way she and the two chicks could scratch & feed til their hearts content without anyone bothering them. The one chick is still alive & walking but almost scalped. But it is eating, cheeping etc. Other than looking bad, i think it may make it. Any suggestions on keeping the peace between everyone?
TIA
Jan

 

[sourland]

Don't let the hen with the two chicks out to free range until the chicks are bigger and stronger. Once they are large enough, they will be able to elude the agressive hen.