How to stop hen smashing baby chicks

[phillipsal889966]

How do you stop hens who are sitting on eggs not to smash the baby’s when they are born. I had a hen with 11 babies out of about 20 eggs with some being bantams and some regular sized. But out of the 11 babies 8 of them died by being smashed

 

[Isadora]

How are they being smashed? By her feet or is she intentionally pecking at them?

 

[phillipsal889966]

How are they being smashed? By her feet or is she intentionally pecking at them?

I think her feet i haven’t seen her peck them and the dead ones don’t have peck marks

 

[Isadora]

Well, let me just say I'm sorry that happened. In my opinion a good broody should be sitting calmly and not moving around too much while her chicks are hatching. Was she somewhere by herself so other chickens weren't bothering her while the chicks were hatching?

 

[phillipsal889966]

Well, let me just say I'm sorry that happened. In my opinion a good broody should be sitting calmly and not moving around too much while her chicks are hatching. Was she somewhere by herself so other chickens weren't bothering her while the chicks were hatching?

The other hens did come and lay in her nest a lot I didn’t really know which eggs were good or bad so I just left them there

 

[Isadora]

The other hens did come and lay in her nest a lot I didn’t really know which eggs were good or bad so I just left them there

Okay. In the future, you'll want to mark the eggs you want her to hatch with a sharpie so that you can collect eggs everyday and know which ones to leave under her.
A separate area where she can set so that doesn't happen in the first place is good too, but sometimes broodies Don't like to be moved So it's not always an option.

 

[phillipsal889966]

Okay. In the future, you'll want to mark the eggs you want her to hatch with a sharpie so that you can collect eggs everyday and know which ones to leave under her.
A separate area where she can set so that doesn't happen in the first place is good too, but sometimes broodies Don't like to be moved So it's not always an option.

Thanks for the advice