What the heck. My hen killed her chick

[HollowOfWisps]

I read through everything and personally I think people often jump to conclusions with a broody too quickly. Yes some can be awful, but the situation you are describing doesn’t really scream bad broody to me. I hatch every year for years both chickens and ducks. I use broodies and incubators. Chicks can and will die mid-hatch. I had one this morning that was halfway out of the shell when I went to bed and this morning when I woke up was dead. It was in an incubator. We like to think in most cases all babies make it, but honestly that’s not nature. Often a mother will lose at least one in a batch of multiples. I grew up on a farm and whether it’s sheep, goats, horses, dogs, cats, chicks, ducks, cows they all lose babies in fact we planned on a certain number of losses during gestation/birth/hatching each year. Mothers who are omnivores or carnivores will often eat at the dead young and while it may seem brutal to us there is nothing wrong with that. I’ve seen chicks die mid hatch then the broody hen starts to peck at eating the dead chick and I know that’s what happened because I was in the barn checking on them all day while I was doing chores. The one time I noticed a chick died shortly after hatching and right when I was about to pull it from the broody a horse kicked down a gate. I left it to go get the horse and by the time I got back the chick was half eaten. It happens and it’s nature, but one thing we have to remember is that we are working with animals that don’t see the world the way we do and that’s okay.

Edit: I also wanted to add that while it may seem repulsive to eat the dead young it actually is often necessary for the survival of the mother and other babies. Not just replenishing the mother, but in the wild if the dead young are simply just left to rot the scent of the decaying corpse will draw in predators.

 

[Maka]

One day transition? That tells me maybe her hormones weren't as strong as they should've been. I've known hens that would find other nests and start sitting on them once their own eggs were removed. Some would even sit on rocks, or on nothing with dogged persistence for weeks. That compulsion to sit with a good broody is high! Letting the others push her around while broody is another clue that her hormones may have not been as strong as they should have been - good broodies are notoriously aggressive towards others in protection of their chicks and nest, even if they were somewhat docile when not broody.

My best broody is a starlight green egger, a breed that's not even supposed to go broody. I also had a good broody Prairie Bluebell, who is also not supposed to go broody. My buff orpingtons refused to sit. My FBCM was my bad broody. It all really depends on the individual chicken as well as their breed. So there is hope one of your others will try. Chickens are weird!

That’s exactly what I was thinking. Something just wasn’t right here. When she goes broody she will sit on eggs for a long long time too. Well over the typical amount.

I’ve just chalked it up to her being too young. I love her so much but. She will not be a mom until next spring or so.