I am sick to my stomach

[tazzy]

I'm so upset. The most horrible thing ever happened. Our chicks hatched yesterday and we had them in the brooder with their mama hen. We had split the brooder in half with another hen in the other half and separated from the broody hen and her eggs/chicks by a big piece of plywood from top to bottom. The other chicken was recooperating after being pecked by another chicken.

Four of the baby chicks managed to squeeze through a tiny opening between the two areas of the brooder and they were alone with the other hen. She pecked the poor babies to death and their mother couldn't come to their rescue because she couldn't get through the plywood opening since it was only an inch or so wide.

I am so thankful that I didn't have to see the carnage. But my husband did and he was heartbroken. We are so sad and feel so horrible for letting this happen.

Those poor, sweet baby chicks. What a horrible way to die. I feel like throwing up.

 

[Mahonri]

Ouch. I suppose we all learn a lesson from your misfortune... Those little bounders can squeeze through small spaces. Hang in there, with time the pain will lesson, but it's miserable to go through.

 

[tazzy]

thanks...I feel so sad. I cried over the baby chicks, too. I let them down and that breaks my heart. I could blame my husband, since he is the one who set up the plywood separator, but I won't, because I was just as capable of checking out the setup and I didn't. He is heartbroken. He was in the midst of expanding our chicken coop and giving the chickens an outdoor run area and so he's now back to working extra diligently to try to make up for the horrible thing that happened today.

I feel awful for the momma hen, too, who sat on those eggs for so very long and had to stand by helplessly while her chicks were killed.

We have put the other hen back with the main flock and there's no way that the three remaining babies can be harmed while in the brooder. The other hen has healed so hopefully the other chickens will leave her alone. And as soon as the outdoor run is completed, hopefully all of the chickens will be otherwise occupied and will stop pecking on each other.

 

[domromer]

That's very sad, I'm sorry.

 

[ibpboo]

I'm so sorry to hear that, I understand your pain.

 

[tazzy]

thanks for the kind words. I went to check on the three remaining babies today and they're all doing fine, thank goodness.

it makes me so mad at myself that we worked so hard to protect the babies from predators by making their brooder and chicken coop predator-proof (even to the point of pouring a one-foot deep concrete footer all the way around the base of the coop when we built it) and yet it's a chicken we put INSIDE the brooder that gets to the babies and hurts them.

I guess I can at least hope that my post helps someone who might have chicks hatching and get them to double-check their brooder. I looked again at the crevice they squeezed through and it literally is a crevice. The plywood barrier is about 1 inch off the base of the floor of the brooder, if that much, and that's what the babies crawled under. Poor little chickies.

 

[rroven]

So sorry, Tazzy but try not to be too hard on yourself. It sometimes happens that you think you have all the bases covered but something happens anyway. Try to learn from it and move on, and especially give your hubby a squeeze just for feeling bad too...many wouldn't....

 

[Ellie]

I am so sorry. She does at least have babies left. That is a blessing.

Try as hard as you can to take the conjured up image out of your mind.... hard to do. I find it helps... when you think of the mama trying to save her babies, replace that with her being happy with the babies she has.

Hope this helps,
Ellie

 

[tazzy]

Thanks, everyone.

Here is a very happy pic that I just snapped about 10 minutes ago.

 

[Ellie]

Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' about!!

Ellie