Just hatched out three buff orpington chicks under a very good and reliable broody. She was just sitting there clucking and when I checked the chicks, one had been scalped into a mohawk! I assumed she did it, but she didn't finish killing or eating him, so it strikes me as odd. What would cause this kind of injury? Did she grab it by the head to pull it out of the egg? It's peeping and stumbling around like a normal chick and the eye on the 'bad' side appears normal when I open the lid.
He appears to have one slash on each 'cheek' that bleed intermittently, thus the cornstarch. I removed the first two chicks from mom and have them separated (one normal and one mohawk). The last chick just zipped so it's still under mom. Any thoughts? Weird 'gills' birth defect? Mom slashed him on each cheek as a rite of passage? cut on the egg? Maybe another hen snuck in and attacked?
In either case, even if the broody did not herself do this, I assume poor chickie and hatchmate need to stay away from mom.
Seeing all that blood will not be a good thing I would guess.
He appears to have one slash on each 'cheek' that bleed intermittently, thus the cornstarch. I removed the first two chicks from mom and have them separated (one normal and one mohawk). The last chick just zipped so it's still under mom. Any thoughts? Weird 'gills' birth defect? Mom slashed him on each cheek as a rite of passage? cut on the egg? Maybe another hen snuck in and attacked?
In either case, even if the broody did not herself do this, I assume poor chickie and hatchmate need to stay away from mom.
Last edited:
