Momma hen is attacking her chicks

[Farm life101]

Hello fellow chicken lovers! I have an old silkie who went broody so I let her hatch some chicks (this isn’t her first time) and every time they come out from under She pecks then until they go back under her. I don’t want to check in the chicks because I’m afraid she’ll start rejecting them but they just hatched sometime last night or this morning and I’m not sure how many eggs still need to hatch. Last time she hatched chicks I went to check on the chicks and saw an egg piping so I stayed and watched and then it hatched and she started attacking it (I ended up taking them away from her bc I was afraid she’d kill them) Is this a normal behavior? Could she be doing it because she is stressed?

 

[aart]

Attacking it or just pecking it to stay underneath her?
Have you gotten this hen to become accustomed to your checking under her?
Always a good thing to do, IMO.
How many times has she hatched?
How old is she?

 

[Farm life101]

Attacking it or just pecking it to stay underneath her?
Have you gotten this hen to become accustomed to your checking under her?
Always a good thing to do, IMO.
How many times has she hatched?
How old is she?

I guess it she is just pecking as she’s not injured them as far as I can tell. She is used to me handling her and checking her eggs and has always been fine with it. I got her when she was 4 or 5 and I’ve had her for about 3 years. I’ve only had her hatch those one eggs and I ended up taking her chicks away as she had injured one while it was still trying to hatch. I’ve been watching her and she seems fine with them now so I’m wondering if she is just worried I’m going to take them from her again Is it safe for me to check on the chicks and make sure the other eggs are doing okay? Or should I wait for a few more hours or a day or?

 

[aart]

Is it safe for me to check on the chicks and make sure the other eggs are doing okay? Or should I wait for a few more hours or a day or?

I usually leave them alone while hatching...might take a peek every few hours,and remove shells. Did you take the chicks already hatched?

 

[Farm life101]

I usually leave them alone while hatching...might take a peek every few hours,and remove shells. Did you take the chicks already hatched?

I’ve left them alone for the most part. The last time she hatched chicks I had to take them tho. Thank you for helping!

 

[Conan]

My favorite broody does this. I prefer a little coercion from her for the chick to stay put, as this typically means the others have not hatched yet, and she is choosing not to get off the nest in favor of the already hatched chicks.
The alternative, in my experience, is a hen that will leave a partially hatched chick to tend to the others. This results in an assisted hatch or a dead chick.
I think she sounds like a good mama bird.

 

[aart]

I’ve left them alone for the most part.

So you left the chicks with the mama?

The last time she hatched chicks I had to take them tho.

Why did you take them?

 

[Farm life101]

So you left the chicks with the mama?

Why did you take them?

Last time I had to take them bc she had grabbed a chick that was trying to hatch and pulled it out of its egg and it’s wing was bleeding so I was scared to leave it with her. The chicks that she just hatched are staying with her no matter what this time as I don’t want to have to raise them lol. I’m just worried that if I go in there to take out the eggs and make sure they are okay that she might reject them

 

[Farm life101]

I just went in and got the empty eggs from her. She is doing well with them. I guess she was just pecking Them And I was being a bit too concerned lol. Thank you for your help!