Need advice.. should I take chicks from mom?

[BamaChick76]

Good morning , everyone! Here's my problem. One of my hens hatched her eggs on May 18th and every morning since then when I go to feed and check on everyone she had smothered one ( that's 3 so far) during the night on the nest. Should I take them from her and place them in my brooder? Or could something else be going on?

 

[Southernbelle]

Good morning! I never take the chicks away from the mother because it's the reward of all her hard work and I'm afraid she'll just turn right around and go broody again. But, if she's not taking good enough care of her chicks, you might have to take them away.

Can you put the mama and babies in a brooder? Maybe she was cramming herself in too small of a space to sleep in. Are you 100% sure she doesn't have lice or mites? They may not bother her much, but they can kill the babies since the babies are so tiny.

I hope you find a good solution!

 

[BamaChick76]

i'll try moving her and the chicks to a larger nest area and see how that goes. we had only just treated them for lice/mites just before she went broody so i sure hope that's not what it is. thanks so much for a speedy reply! I'll let you know how it goes.