Hi everyone, desperately hoping you can help me sold this conundrum. I read everything I could already in the threads and tried a few methods 2 nights ago, but they didn't work out.
The long story:
Two of my hens (a sizzle & a silkie) went broody, the sizzle went broody well before the silkie.
When one hatched a little under 2 weeks ago, the sizzle adopted her and went on her way. The silkie continued to sit on the remaining eggs.
A few days ago an egg finally hatched under our silkie. When I went out I heard the baby crying and the sizzle was attacking her. Her eye was bleeding so I rescued her and brought her inside to a temporary brooder. After reading everything I could online, we snuck her back under the silkie later that night.
It seemed to go ok yesterday, although I did have to intervene once when I was in the yard and heard the new baby crying. The sizzle had her cornered again and she couldn't get in the nest box. I added shavings to help her get back in next time.
All was well when we went to bed, but this morning I found her crying under the coop. She had been chased down the ramp. My silkie was having a fit and running around. Once I collected the baby, she went back up to sit on her eggs.
The Short Version:
I have two hens with baby's, and the one with the week older chick is the alpha hen. The alpha hen keeps attacking the 2 day old chick of the other hen.
The question:
I am wary to put the new chick back under the silkie mom again in our little coop together, I fear the alpha sizzle will keep going after her.
I am considering raising the chick inside and reintroducing her (although not ideal because she would bond with humans), alternately I considered trying to get the silkie and the remaining eggs into a cardboard box and separating them, or I could attempt to remove the sizzle and her older baby.
My thoughts are since the sizzle and her chick have been in the coop longer, and the silkie is still sitting on eggs, it will be easier to just move the silkie and eggs with the chick to a box.
Any advice is welcomed, I need all I can get! First-time chicken owner, and when they went broody this is definitely a first as well.
The long story:
Two of my hens (a sizzle & a silkie) went broody, the sizzle went broody well before the silkie.
When one hatched a little under 2 weeks ago, the sizzle adopted her and went on her way. The silkie continued to sit on the remaining eggs.
A few days ago an egg finally hatched under our silkie. When I went out I heard the baby crying and the sizzle was attacking her. Her eye was bleeding so I rescued her and brought her inside to a temporary brooder. After reading everything I could online, we snuck her back under the silkie later that night.
It seemed to go ok yesterday, although I did have to intervene once when I was in the yard and heard the new baby crying. The sizzle had her cornered again and she couldn't get in the nest box. I added shavings to help her get back in next time.
All was well when we went to bed, but this morning I found her crying under the coop. She had been chased down the ramp. My silkie was having a fit and running around. Once I collected the baby, she went back up to sit on her eggs.
The Short Version:
I have two hens with baby's, and the one with the week older chick is the alpha hen. The alpha hen keeps attacking the 2 day old chick of the other hen.
The question:
I am wary to put the new chick back under the silkie mom again in our little coop together, I fear the alpha sizzle will keep going after her.
I am considering raising the chick inside and reintroducing her (although not ideal because she would bond with humans), alternately I considered trying to get the silkie and the remaining eggs into a cardboard box and separating them, or I could attempt to remove the sizzle and her older baby.
My thoughts are since the sizzle and her chick have been in the coop longer, and the silkie is still sitting on eggs, it will be easier to just move the silkie and eggs with the chick to a box.
Any advice is welcomed, I need all I can get! First-time chicken owner, and when they went broody this is definitely a first as well.
