I’ve had a hen sitting on some eggs for a bit and two hatched yesterday but one of the hens pecked them to death in the head. Is this normal? Obviously I need to get them out of there and near a heat source; however, is there a certain period they need to be near an adult hen?

Sometime that happens. Other times they will be fine in the coop and mother hen protects them. To be safe after they hatch move momma hen and chicks to a separate area if you want hen raised chicks. Mom will take care of them.

If you want to take them and put them back when they are bigger you will need a light but make sure they have room enough to get away from it if they need to. Basically give them the option to be under the llight or not. We keep unfeathered chicks in a water trough with light on one end. Once fully feathered they go in one of the portable meat bird pens. Meat birds stay there they'll they move to the kill cone. Egg layers until they are big enough they wont fit through my electric net goat fence.

I would seperate the broody hen and her chicks from the rest of the flock. No need for a heat source as the hen will do all that work for you. Unless she was the one who killed her own chicks then take the chicks from her and raise them seperate.

I always separate the broody hen from the rest of the flock if I'm wanting her to hatch some chicks. Sometimes other hens will try to wiggle their way in and lay eggs in her clutch, breaking eggs. Or as you found out, some hens (or roos) may start pecking the annoying chicks. Its only 3 weeks from the time the hen starts sitting on the eggs to when the chicks hatch, so I put her in a separate pen, or a large dog crate until they hatch. then I give them a day or 2, and return them all to the original flock. Momma will protect them, she will be their heat source too (no need to provide extra).

Good info there. I don’t know which hen killed the chicks. There are 15 of them. The sitting hen let’s me pick her up to look around for chicks but the others are mean as snakes.

It's nice, if you have room to separate her and the chick from the rest...if she doesnt seem to have the instinct to send those other hens packing. I have had this same experience, and also I have had brood hens that could raise all the chick amongst everybody without the bully hens hurting their chicks too.

I got more old clucks than eggs! We gather every day, but seems like all my hens have gone broody. Yesterday there were four crammed into one nest box, and I've found no way to discourage them. Half my flock is going cluck cluck!

Dang it Lee, that reminds me of a whole bunch of women that dont know each other , all in the same local for a while, all getting in sync with each other, but, I'm not gonna talk about that no more, lol.

Lee we found the Americanas to be the less broody of what we have kept. John we use a red light when they first hatch out as any red color on a chick is a pecking point for all. If we let a hen hatch a brood we try to keep them separate until the chicks are close to full grown. Then slip them in at night with the least disturbance we can.

I found the culprit. It was a Guinnea. He got fed to the kids’ foxes.

Chicks can be raised on their own without the hen. As suggested, they need a heat source to replace the hen. 95 degrees the first week, 90 degrees the second week lowering it 5 degrees each week. Watch the chicks. If they are crowded under the bulb, lower it for more heat. If they are several feet away, raise the bulb to lower the heat. Feed until you reach 70-75 degrees and you should be able to release them. They should be feathered out and live on their own.

My hero! Good advice. Should be easy with our consistent weather. Lol.