Mother hens attacking chicks

[Termi]

Hello, I'm new to the forum. I've had many eggs hatch under broody hens and just recently my hen has so far hatched 4 out of 8 eggs. The first three were black, then came a yellow one. The mother hen proceeded to peck the yellow one around the nostrils and drew blood. I've never had this happen before, it was such a surprise. I didn't know whether or not to remove the chick because the chick would go underneath the mother and then things were fine but when the mother got up off the nest she would peck at the yellow one again. I really didn't want to have chicks inside the house this year as I've had many in the past but I finally decided to remove the chick and she's now in a box under a heat lamp with food, water and a stuffed animal as a surrogate mother. She's so young she hasn't had a chance to start eating or drinking. Am I right in assuming that the mother hen won't accept her back at this point? I may have to take one of the other chicks inside to keep her company. This is a young broody hen, just a year old and her first time raising young. I'm wondering if the yellow color of the chick somehow threw her off and she saw it as a threat. Just thought I'd run this by you all. Thanks!

 

[Judy]

Wish I knew the answer. I once had a first time broody kill all her chicks -- I caught her as the last one was hatching, she wouldn't even wait for it to get out. Talk about unprepared, I've never seen this before.

Guess you could try, at dawn maybe -- maybe she was just flustered by the whole thing and will have calmed down a little by then. Never heard of one being bothered by the different colors before; I don't think I've ever had one hatch a clutch of eggs where all the chicks were the same color.

Good luck, let us know how it works out, and welcome to BYC!

 

[kano]

Quote:
Not a good signal. May be is because is young, but .....

. I don't think she is going to be a good mother in the future. Chicks doesn't like to be alone, so think in some company. And no, the mother is not going to accept it anymore....