I am new on the forum, and I have a hen who hatched five chicks Tuesday, 26th. Yesterday when I checked them one chick was down. My son found it first and picked it up and said it was breathing and looked okay, it was just squatted down. Well, I made a mistake and told him( without checking the chick myself) to bring it over to the hen with her other chicks and put it down near her. Well, as soon as the chick was out of his hands the hen charged it and jumped on it like it was a threat! She pecked it so badly that it died a few minutes after we got it out of the coop. Reuben was awfully upset about it. I was clueless as to why she did it, but I told him that there must have been something wrong with the chick.
I checked on them several times today and she and the rest of the chicks were fine, until late this after- noon. Looking in the coop I saw that one chick was missing. I walked in and she ran over to the corner and pecked one time and then went for cover with the other chicks following. In the corner the missing chicks was squatted there. I took it out and brought it in the house and its right leg has been pecked up close to the body but doesn't seem to be broken. I put salve on it and she drank and is wrapped up in a washcloth peeping, but can't stand.
Does anyone have any idea why a hen would behave this way?
I have decided to take the others away from her, but she was too aggressive when I went back in the coop a while ago, so I will try again after dark. I don't want her to kill the others!
Help.
I checked on them several times today and she and the rest of the chicks were fine, until late this after- noon. Looking in the coop I saw that one chick was missing. I walked in and she ran over to the corner and pecked one time and then went for cover with the other chicks following. In the corner the missing chicks was squatted there. I took it out and brought it in the house and its right leg has been pecked up close to the body but doesn't seem to be broken. I put salve on it and she drank and is wrapped up in a washcloth peeping, but can't stand.
Does anyone have any idea why a hen would behave this way?
I have decided to take the others away from her, but she was too aggressive when I went back in the coop a while ago, so I will try again after dark. I don't want her to kill the others!
Help.