New chicks

[ejtrout31]

just wait a while

 

[Puckaster]

Ten days ago my broody hatched 3 chicks in the main coop. Before all had hatched one of the other chickens attacked one of the chicks when it got out to explore the coop. In my experience I would deffinately seperate or fence them off un till all had hatched and mom can protect them and maybe keep them seperate in the same run for the first week or so. I saved the chick just in time and moved them all to another run to recover and settle.

 

[Joe1962]

She hatched 2 more this morning. When they were able to leave the box she left with all 3 of them and have not went back. I take it she is done with the other eggs. She only had 4 but now there are 3 left. The other girls must have given her 2 more. I did build a small pen to put them in, just waiting to see if she is going to back to the nest today.

 

[L1sa]

If she's not gone back after an hour or two, I think she's pretty much done with the nest/eggs. Congrats on your 3 babies.

 

[Joe1962]

If she's not gone back after an hour or two, I think she's pretty much done with the nest/eggs. Congrats on your 3 babies.

Thank you L1sa.

 

[Joe1962]

I came home to a tragedy today. All was going well, I built a small pen for the hen and new chicks. They all seem to be doing good. When I got home today I could hear the hen clucking inside the coop. When I opened the door she was walking around a dead chick on the floor with a very low quiet cluck. None of the chick's were left in the pen. The dead one I found looked like it had its neck rung. no feathers on the neck and red with a little blood. No teeth marks though. I found another out at the end of the run cold and barley alive. I brought it in the house and held it till it warmed up and became responsive again. It's in the brooder now under the heat lamp. One leg is a little banged up but nothing seems to be broken. A small blood spot on the side of its neck but does not look to bad. Question, did the other chickens do this? I think this one is going to live.

 

[Jurassic Wolf]

If the hen and her chicks were in a separate pen, then I doubt it was the other chickens. It could have been the mother, but that's highly unlikely. Does it look like anything got in?

 

[Joe1962]

If the hen and her chicks were in a separate pen, then I doubt it was the other chickens. It could have been the mother, but that's highly unlikely. Does it look like anything got in?

Everything looked normal. The rest of the flock was out foraging in the yard just like normal.

 

[Jurassic Wolf]

Huh. That's strange. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/why-would-a-mama-hen-attack-her-chicks.87839/ there is a link to another thread. Do you think your mama would kill her chicks?

 

[Joe1962]

Huh. That's strange. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/why-would-a-mama-hen-attack-her-chicks.87839/ there is a link to another thread. Do you think your mama would kill her chicks?

She is only a Pullet, maybe she is to young yet. I have never seen her mistreat them. But they are only a few days old.