View Full Version : Chickens killing baby chicks!
I have 5 (I had 6) Old English Game Bantam hens and one rooster. I have them all living together in a small chicken coop. I got these birds because of how broody they will sit on other birds eggs. After a couple weeks they all went broody, and 3 weeks later I have a dozen little peeps as well as 5 ducks that they hatched! 2 hens will get int one nest box and take turns sitting on the eggs so that they never cool. They had almost 100% successful hatch rate. Since then 5 died from what I assumed was chill. The next day There were 3 more day olds in the nest near their mother. I put them on the floor with the other chicks and the all clustered together and covered them. This morning there were 3 more day olds and I put them on the floor. The adult chickens went berserk and pecked one to death immediately. While keeping them away I ended up killing one of the hens. I put the other 2 chicks in and they took them in.
I'm new to this type of chicken. They are great incubators, but I wonder what the trick is to keep them from this weird behavior. Are these chicks sick, or do I need to not separate the chicks from their mother ? I'm afraid they might starve if they stay in the nest box, but getting pecked to death isn't much better.
Does anyone have any idea how I could avoid this in the future ?
Thanks
Pete
I'm a little confused by your post. The chicks should be left under the hen until all the eggs that are going to hatch have hatched. Then put the hen and chicks in a cage or someplace by themselves (away from the other chickens). Make sure they have water in a chick waterer and starter crumbles. The chicks will get under the hen for warmth. The other chickens will peck and kill baby chicks. Sometimes a broody hen will peck at chicks if she didn't hatch them. Were you taking the baby chicks away from the mother hen and putting them on the floor with the other adult chickens??
Yes, I took the chicks while there are still a couple eggs to hatch. I wanted the mother to concentrate on hatching the egg. I'll separate them out in the future. How long do they need to be kept apart ? I thought that since they were all hatched in the same place they would be OK together.
Yes, I took the chicks while there are still a couple eggs to hatch. I wanted the mother to concentrate on hatching the egg. I'll separate them out in the future. How long do they need to be kept apart ? I thought that since they were all hatched in the same place they would be OK together.
I keep them apart until the chicks are completely feathered out and the mother "weans" them. Usually anytime you introduce new chickens to the flock there will be some agression toward the newcomers until the new "pecking order" is established. But at least the young chickens will be able to get away from the others if they get rough with them.
gregrag
07-06-2009, 08:05 AM
Sounds like your birds are to many in a small space--this will cause aggression and fighting--why are you taking baby chicks away from their mother and putting them on the floor? They need warmth that the mother provides--yes it sounds like they suffered from hypothermia--the hens that are'nt their mothers will see them as a nuisance--especially in small pens or cages. You should remove the hen and chicks from the others and give them their own place--all of your eggs should hatch within 24 hours of each other--the ones that don't arent going to--so throw them away. Set all of your eggs at the same time--don't stagger them over a period of time. Old English Games are excellent mothers and quite capable of raising them with little or no help from you--all you need to do is provide a safe place and feed and water. Good luck in the future and rest assured we all learn from our mistakes...Greg:neutral:
There are 3 chickens on the floor that have a bunch of chicks. They seem OK with each other, so I thought they wouldn't mind a few more. Since there are 2 hens on each clutch of eggs, are they both mothers ? I've never seen chickens share their nest.
There are 3 chickens on the floor that have a bunch of chicks. They seem OK with each other, so I thought they wouldn't mind a few more. Since there are 2 hens on each clutch of eggs, are they both mothers ? I've never seen chickens share their nest.
Considering you've done so many things wrong, you're lucky so far. You've gotten good advice but you may end up with nothing if you choose to argue with it. Nest sharing seldom works out & overcrowding leads to cannablism. Give them more room, provide more nests & stop tampering with them.
robin416
07-06-2009, 03:42 PM
You keep saying the floor, the floor of what? A cage, your living room, a chicken coop.
Babies should be left with the hen doing the hatching, just that hen. She should be in an area that is all hers and the newly hatched peeps. The hatching nest should be on the floor, not several feet from the ground.
I think at this point you should be explaining your setup and how much you understand about caring for poultry. So far it seems that you need a ton more info about their proper care.
Depending on the breed co-hatching and co-rearing can work. I have several birds that always co-brood without any problems.
gregrag
07-06-2009, 08:49 PM
Oh--Pete--I see what you are doing now--you are going for the communial thing--unless they are hatched the same day the olsd hens will recognize they are not theirs---next time put them under the hen at nite and make sure they are not more than a day or so diffrent in age.--hope this helps Greg:roll:
You keep saying the floor, the floor of what? A cage, your living room, a chicken coop.
Babies should be left with the hen doing the hatching, just that hen. She should be in an area that is all hers and the newly hatched peeps. The hatching nest should be on the floor, not several feet from the ground.
I think at this point you should be explaining your setup and how much you understand about caring for poultry. So far it seems that you need a ton more info about their proper care.
Depending on the breed co-hatching and co-rearing can work. I have several birds that always co-brood without any problems.
They are old English Bantams. There are 4 hens in a 10x10 coop. They sit on their eggs together, and hatch and brood them together until the last one. Maybe it is getting too crowded. I know some Amish that use these birds as incubators. Maybe they just put up with a 50% loss..
Considering you've done so many things wrong, you're lucky so far. You've gotten good advice but you may end up with nothing if you choose to argue with it. Nest sharing seldom works out & overcrowding leads to cannablism. Give them more room, provide more nests & stop tampering with them.
I wasn't arguing you troll! I was asking for advice! sheesh!
Oh--Pete--I see what you are doing now--you are going for the communial thing--unless they are hatched the same day the olsd hens will recognize they are not theirs---next time put them under the hen at nite and make sure they are not more than a day or so diffrent in age.--hope this helps Greg:roll:
I'm building a hatching coop, so as soon as they go broody I'll move them over there. They really do seem to gravitate towards co-sitting. My RIRs never did that. Theses chickens did hatch some duck eggs which is really cool. They love to sit, and didn't start getting aggressive until the chicks hatched. The only downside of these birds is that their eggs are small and kind of yolky for most peoples taste.
Pathfinders
07-07-2009, 12:37 PM
Pete,
You must be new to this forum. Evy is the farthest thing from a troll, and was just trying to help you. She's quite right in all her advice (although she is somewhat terse.)
You need to separate broodies, give them a completely separate space where no other birds can get to their nest. Let them set until they get off the nest, leave the babies with their mother.
Going for a 50% survival rate is (for most of us) unacceptable. Change your practices and you'll likely have about a 99% rate.
Best,
Laura
richbar
07-07-2009, 12:56 PM
Do you have adequate nest boxes for the birds. I would consider building some nesting stations and I would not let them co-set. If they are attempting to do so, you may want to consider placing some type of cage in the pen and breaking the extra hens from setting so there is only one on a nest. The next thing is to have all the eggs in one nest set on together so they hatch together. This can only happen if you prevent the other hens from having access to the nest of the hen that is setting. Otherwise they may very well try to lay in an existing nest. There is no doubt that games are good broody hens. Getting your barn properly set up to avoid this co-nesting is critical if you are going to be able to properly manage the hens and chicks through incubation and brooding.
Do you have adequate nest boxes for the birds. I would consider building some nesting stations and I would not let them co-set. If they are attempting to do so, you may want to consider placing some type of cage in the pen and breaking the extra hens from setting so there is only one on a nest. The next thing is to have all the eggs in one nest set on together so they hatch together. This can only happen if you prevent the other hens from having access to the nest of the hen that is setting. Otherwise they may very well try to lay in an existing nest. There is no doubt that games are good broody hens. Getting your barn properly set up to avoid this co-nesting is critical if you are going to be able to properly manage the hens and chicks through incubation and brooding.
I'm building more nesting stations now, but these hens sat double from the start. I'm really impressed the way one bird would sit while the other got a bite to eat. I thought about separating them when they started sitting, but neither bird would move willingly. It sounds like If I had done that I would have better results. It's just that they are so small it took me a while to figure everything out. I could see a bird in the nest box, but I never expected 2 in one box. There are 10 nest boxes in this coop.
Pete,
You must be new to this forum. Evy is the farthest thing from a troll, and was just trying to help you. She's quite right in all her advice (although she is somewhat terse.)
You need to separate broodies, give them a completely separate space where no other birds can get to their nest. Let them set until they get off the nest, leave the babies with their mother.
Going for a 50% survival rate is (for most of us) unacceptable. Change your practices and you'll likely have about a 99% rate.
Best,
Laura
I agree 50% is way too low. I have high hopes for these chickens. I've tried to get RIR and Barred Rock to sit, but unless you cage them in they tend get up and wander off. I don't have a traditional barn for my birds. They live in 10x10 or 8x16 sq foot coops. on pasture. Only 3 coops have access to electricity, so I'd be really happy if the OEGBs would raise their chicks. On the next run, I'm thinking of putting each hen into a small dog crate as soon as the go broody. If there's 2 hens I'll just have to pick one.
robin416
07-07-2009, 08:23 PM
Do you have your birds separated at all? Most of us that raise them for something more than lawn ornaments have the birds in their own pens.
Example: my Dutch coop has eight 4X4 pens. I have a Dutch pair in one, a trio in another. A Hamburg trio in one and a Hamburg pair in another. This way even if my girls in trios co brood they are accepting of the new peeps. But if one of the peeps got in to an adjoining pen the mothers there wouldn't hesitate to kill the interloping peeps.
My Silkie building is 50' X 12' with individual pens. I have only one Silkie in my coop that will not co brood, will not let another bird within feet of her peeps. The others could care less and co brood and raise peeps all of the time. I even have a girl that never goes broody but helps raise peeps hatched by another.
It would probably help you a ton to see someone's set up.
Yes, Laura my numbers are way down from what they were this time last year. I thinned out all of my birds a ton.
richbar
07-08-2009, 02:38 PM
I would like to make a suggestion to you. If you find that the birds are double setting, I would remove one and place it in a cage located in the pen to keep that bird from setting on the nest with the setting hen. If you keep her in a wire cage, she should lose the broodiness and start laying again. Birds do not lay when they are setting. The eggs do not have to be set upon 100 percent of the time as a hen will often get off the nest for a few minutes to an hour to eat and drink. When you release the hens from the cage, after they stop acting broody, watch them to make sure they don't go back to that nest and if they do, be sure to return them to the cage. Using broody hens to hatch eggs has been done for a long time and some people have been able to get hens to set on repeated clutches by taking the chicks away and rearing them artificially. Ultimately, the goal should be to have each hen on her own nest, setting on their own clutch of eggs. I hope this helps.
I have good luck with setting hens, but each one is moved to a seperate pen to prevent other hens from laying in the same nest. To leave setting hens in the same pen with others that are laying or setting is asking for trouble. To accomplish this I use nests made of upright 4 or 5 gallon pails placed in a corner of the floor. Dirt in the bottom for weight, then a thick layer of grass, shavings, or hay. I usually shake a little Sevin dust in the nest and tamp it down/in before the eggs go in. Never had a problem with the chicks using this method. The hens can be moved without ever leaving the nest after they are thoroughly broody. They only need enough room to get off the nest to eat and drink. Since you are having problems with your present method, may I suggest you try out some of the advice you have received?
richbar
07-08-2009, 07:24 PM
MKG, I had a friend who used silkies to hatch some of his call ducks. He used 5 gallon buckets and attached a board 1 x 4 across the front and left them laying down on their side. It was one of the only ways that I ever saw where you could move the setting hen without any distubance but just to be safe he always moved them at night. Rich
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