Mother hen won't accept chick?

[KiraCookie]

We have 2 broody hens, and they have 4 chicks, 3 of them are a month old, and one is about a week. For some reason, the broody mother hen keeps chasing the smallest baby chick away and biting its head.? We had a baby chick and found it skelped and it was 4 days old, maybe that hen did that to it. I dont want the hen to kill the chick, so is there anything i can do to help??

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I would watch the 2 broodies to see who is harassing the chick. When you find out, separate her from the brooding area and let the other hen do the job alone. Other than you brooding the chick yourself, that's really all I can think of. Good luck!

 

[Wolftalk]

that is not good

i just had 4 chicks die that way

its soooo sad. but get that chick out asap and hand raise it! wont that be fun... but he might get lonley

good luck!

 

[Matt A NC]

Quote:
The problem is that there is such a huge age difference. Once a hen or hens had the first 3 more should not have been added to the brood more then a few days apart. The mother should have left the nest with her 3. If you still had eggs then one should have taken the first 3 and have the other hen set the remaining eggs.

Matt