Lately quite a few of my hens have gone broody so I let them each sit on a few eggs. One hen has 6-2 week old chicks and is doing fabulous raising them with the flock. Another hen hatched out only one baby and is also raising it with the flock. ANother is in a rubbermaid tub sitting on 4 eggs due to hatch out any day now who is also a proven good mother hen. One more broody is living out back in a 4 by 6 coop with an attatched run. She hatched out 2 chicks and has been great until yesterday. I went in to give her fresh cold water and top off the feed as well as check on the chicks. She attacked me in a BIG way to the point I had blood running down my hand from her ripping me open and could barely grab the waterer before another attack. I don't get it she was just fine and very tame up until yesterday, she seemed to just snap. This morning I checked on them and opened the doors and all was well even tho she was still in massive attack mode. I was cleaning the house all day and just a bit ago went to give her some fresh fruit to help cool her down and had only seen one chick. I searched and searched and couldn't seem to locate the other chick. The doors are too high for the chicks to jump outside yet so there would have been no way the little one could have made it out on its own. I began searching around the coop and heard a really faint chirping coming from behind the coop. I have some wood sotred back there so I began carefully pulling out the wood and found the little chick smooshed between the back coop wall and the wood pile all beat up and barely moving not to mention ice cold. I cupped it in my hands until it gained some more body heat and attempted to give mama back her chick. Mama immediately went for its head but I quickly snatched it up and took it out of there. Not trusting this hen anymore I took her other chick as well. Here I was trying to figure out what I was gonna do with the 2 chicks one in which I don't know if it will make it or not. No apparent injuries but I do believe mama hen gave it one hell of a thrashing. I checked it over throughly to make sure there was no broken bones or puncture wounds. I tried giving the chicks to the hen thats still setting on eggs and was gonna give her eggs to another broody who has been sitting on an empty nest but she too tried to turn on the chicks. I had one more option and that was to give the 2 chicks to my serama hen with just the one chick. Much to my surprise she took them right in however the one chick who was unharmed wouldn't accept her and kept cheeping loudly. Finally things seem to have calmed down and all chicks are under the new mama
Just when you think you have a great broody she goes nuts! I understand some are not fit to be mothers and guess she fits in this category. She is not young, she is last years hatch but this was her first time. I will never trust her again and don't think I can look at her the same I am sooo angry with her!
DOes anyone think this could have been prevented in some way shape or form, she was away from the rest of the flock so that wasn't it.... I hope the little one makes it
DOes anyone think this could have been prevented in some way shape or form, she was away from the rest of the flock so that wasn't it.... I hope the little one makes it
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