Hen not good mother

[ReiK]

Good day!
One of my hen hatched 3chicks from the 5eggs. She seems to be not a good mother, she eats everything but not letting her chicks eat. Sometimes she pecks at them. Is this normal? What can i do? She is of a Texas breed which seems to show the aggressive behaviour. I am having hard time if i were to raise the baby chicks as i really would like the mother to raise them so she can teach all stuff.

 

[Mamatomany123]

Sometimes hens aren't good mothers. If she's not doing. Good job then I suggest taking them and raising them yourself. They don't need mama to tech them. I've had 5 sets of chicks who were never raised with a hen and they all have done fine.

 

[ReiK]

I

Sometimes hens aren't good mothers. If she's not doing. Good job then I suggest taking them and raising them yourself. They don't need mama to tech them. I've had 5 sets of chicks who were never raised with a hen and they all have done fine.

Am not sure if she really is not a good mother, as she does not really care and scratches on feeder even when chick are there. And she sometimes pecks at them but seems not to the point of chasing the chick and continuous pecking. She allows them also to be on the nest with her. Maybe i am just too observant to the point of small details become big on my part but is just normal? Does mother hen do the things normally above? I am afraid she might injure accidentally the chicks.

 

[Jenessa_09]

I

Am not sure if she really is not a good mother, as she does not really care and scratches on feeder even when chick are there. And she sometimes pecks at them but seems not to the point of chasing the chick and continuous pecking. She allows them also to be on the nest with her. Maybe i am just too observant to the point of small details become big on my part but is just normal? Does mother hen do the things normally above? I am afraid she might injure accidentally the chicks.

Completely normal to pay this much attention! Honestly I think they should be fine. Last year our hen was pecking them so much. It was fine though, and as I’m looking I think it’s just because she was calling them under her. See how it goes, best of luck!

 

[ReiK]

Completely normal to pay this much attention! Honestly I think they should be fine. Last year our hen was pecking them so much. It was fine though, and as I’m looking I think it’s just because she was calling them under her. See how it goes, best of luck!

Thank you very much! i am just paranoid, as i don't want to lose any chicks, but i also don't want to add another batch of chicks to be raised away from mother. I seem to find them more natural when raised by mother hen. will continue to observe

 

[Mamatomany123]

I

Am not sure if she really is not a good mother, as she does not really care and scratches on feeder even when chick are there. And she sometimes pecks at them but seems not to the point of chasing the chick and continuous pecking. She allows them also to be on the nest with her. Maybe i am just too observant to the point of small details become big on my part but is just normal? Does mother hen do the things normally above? I am afraid she might injure accidentally the chicks.

Pecking is how chickens show things. She pecks the food to show them to eat, chicks get a little peck sometimes to show them the bigger ones are boss. When I get chicks I "peck" at the food bowl to show.the babies where to eat.

 

[ReiK]

Pecking is how chickens show things. She pecks the food to show them to eat, chicks get a little peck sometimes to show them the bigger ones are boss. When I get chicks I "peck" at the food bowl to show.the babies where to eat.

Thank you. Will continue to observe how she acts towards the chicks. you might be right that she pecks them to show she’s boss.

 

[MountainWoman73]

You're not the only one obsessively watching a broody hen this week. I just had my first ever chick hatched in the coop yesterday and mama pecked him a few times when I lifted her wing to check, but did a good job keeping him warm if she couldn't see him. I just got up at 5 am to check on him, and when I put him down she used her beak to gently shove him back underneath her.

Waiting to see if she does a good job moving to the floor later today.

 

[ReiK]

You're not the only one obsessively watching a broody hen this week. I just had my first ever chick hatched in the coop yesterday and mama pecked him a few times when I lifted her wing to check, but did a good job keeping him warm if she couldn't see him. I just got up at 5 am to check on him, and when I put him down she used her beak to gently shove him back underneath her.

Waiting to see if she does a good job moving to the floor later today.

Hi. congratulations for your first chick hatched.
i have many chicks recently: one hen with 4 1-month old chicks, one hen with four days-old chicks, one hen with seven also days-old chicks, brooder cage with 3 1-week old chicks... the first batch of chicks i ever had are already 3 1/2 month olds. The hen in my post turns out to be a caring(she’s the one with 4 chicks that are days old)
My first batch is not that successful as one hen only with one chick, another hen with only 2chicks raised. My fault actually as i interfered, that’s why i ended up raising and losing some chicks.

God bless on your first chicks and Mother hen