i think my hen killed one of her babies. do chickens reject their babies because of colours?

Question

i have a Buff Brahma rooster, a black game rooster,and group of around 20 hens 5 are black game bantams. one of the black hens (without me knowing) hatched five eggs in the pen, when i went to feed the group i saw her with four black chicks. went i went into the pen i found a cream chick dead on the ground. i put it near the mother to see her reaction, she lunged at it and attack it untill i took it away. did she kill it? and was it because of its colour?

Answer 1

Not necessarily because of their color, but they will kill what they sense as a "weakling".
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Answer 2

There are many reasons a hen will reject her chick. Often I have had hens peck at and kill chicks which hatch earlier than the others. And it is not uncommon for hens to kill their babies if they look drastically different than the other chicks, such as if they are a different color or size. I once had a polish hen peck the head fluff off one of her chicks (which made a hole it it's skull and killed it). All of her other chicks were crosses and did not have fluffy crests.

Answer 3

Well, I hav had chicks that are alot of different colors, mabe the chick had died and she knows that it died and doesnt want it back. Or mabe she did kill it. I havnt seen it befor, all my hens who have chicks are laying different eggs in onothere hens box and the chicks are yelloe some are brown and black so i dont really know. Is she a 1st time mum if so that could be why.
I prefer to hand rear them because sometimes other hens will kill them.

Answer 4

Yes they can. My Buff Orpington killed every chick that was dark. The rooster was a Buff Orpington but there were three hens nesting together & the other two were Barred Rocks. And when she had 8 chicks she got off the nest & killed any others that hatched, so on that day the other two got off the eggs seeing their future babies didn't have a chance. And they followed her orders. I took the rest of the eggs & hatched them in the house. I managed to introduce two 3-day old light-colored chicks into their fold but they would try to kill the darker ones, so I raised those.

Answer 5

Yes usually there are lots of hens in cartoons which shows eggs hatching and the chick's parents fighting. Of course they do not fight but they do kill the chick if they think it is different from them

Answer 6

OK then, how could you not know your hen was broody and sitting on eggs.the thing is that you may never find out unless you separate you hens when their hatching.color could be a factor.i had a silkie hen that killed every chick she ever hatched she only did it the one time and i put her out to pasture.don't breed from her again she could pass on her bad genes

Answer 7

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Answer 8

As said before they will kill their own. They baby may have been sick or deformed. The mother kills it to protect the healty chicks.

Answer 9

No. She was just curious and she wanted to show it whos dominant in the pecking order that's what my hen did. It was sad. Also it may have thought it was a tasty snack.

Answer 10

no, hen's are very protective of their chick's, no mater of the.co-lour and thy cont very well, she lunged as you wad if you had just lost a baby, as if to say tack it away ! it must have fallen from the nest .

Answer 11

Yes they do. Chickens will kill their young if they are deemed week. They will knock them out of their nest, to keep the away from the healthy ones.