Ok I have this hen that hatched out chicks about 1 months ago. She has been a super mom, and takes good care of her chicks. She had a chick in the past and raised him up fine.
Today I let all the chickens out of the coop and as they are running around the chicks come over to her and she pecks them on the head several times. Then the two chicks go off and fight with each other and rouwdy around the pen. The other chickens all come out of the coop and its business as usual. These chicks are getting adult feathers they can fly well and the other chickens have never been agressive towards them, even my roosters are good to them. They are quite happy healthy girls. I am confused by this behavior their mother is showing.
After a bit their mother pecks them more. they try to hide under her to get away from her pecks, then they run off and fly up on the perch. She does not follow and sometimes they come over and eat by her and all is good.
Is she just repremanding bratty teen agers?
Is she trying to in effect wean them from her side a bit? or repremanding them?
They submit and then she stops. Is this part of her education for them?
Should I worry she will hurt them?
I cant imagine after this long she would hurt them but maybe she went off her rocker or something??????
they seem to sass back a bit when she did it by jumping up and acting like they wanted to spar with her. The same way they play with each other. Mind you they are not tiny babies now and they have a bunch of adult feathers already. She is a bantam bramah and they are bantam Sumatra babies so they are fairly tall and about the size of a small dove right now not huge but not bitty babies either, I would say they are teens.
I watched them for a long time and she didnt chase them down or anything.
Today I let all the chickens out of the coop and as they are running around the chicks come over to her and she pecks them on the head several times. Then the two chicks go off and fight with each other and rouwdy around the pen. The other chickens all come out of the coop and its business as usual. These chicks are getting adult feathers they can fly well and the other chickens have never been agressive towards them, even my roosters are good to them. They are quite happy healthy girls. I am confused by this behavior their mother is showing.
After a bit their mother pecks them more. they try to hide under her to get away from her pecks, then they run off and fly up on the perch. She does not follow and sometimes they come over and eat by her and all is good.
Is she just repremanding bratty teen agers?
Is she trying to in effect wean them from her side a bit? or repremanding them?
They submit and then she stops. Is this part of her education for them?
Should I worry she will hurt them?
I cant imagine after this long she would hurt them but maybe she went off her rocker or something??????
they seem to sass back a bit when she did it by jumping up and acting like they wanted to spar with her. The same way they play with each other. Mind you they are not tiny babies now and they have a bunch of adult feathers already. She is a bantam bramah and they are bantam Sumatra babies so they are fairly tall and about the size of a small dove right now not huge but not bitty babies either, I would say they are teens.
I watched them for a long time and she didnt chase them down or anything.
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