[Sassy]

A friend has had an early hatch of 4 chicks out of 7 eggs under a broody. 3 of the chicks died within a few days of each other apparently stuck to and strangled? by the feathers of the mother hen. The fourth chick has been taken away. She was an excellent mother.

I know you are going to ask for the breed and I cannot remember. I do remember saying that I thought it was a little soon to be breeding from them as hens and cockerel are under a year old and were obtained as POL in the autumn. However very bizarre. Can anyone shed any light on this?

[grinling]

Silkies can accidently smother the chicks.

[Sassy]

The breed is lemon cuckoo Orpingtons.

They were not necessarily smothered and were dangling from the mother hen by feathers around their necks As it happened 3 times over a few days it was not an isolated incident. Any ideas :blink:

[ANHBUC]

The only thing I can think Sassy is that Mum normally raises her wings a little for the chicks to nestle under.  If she hasn't and they have had to struggle under to keep warm they may have got tangled up that way.

[Sassy]

That is what we thought. It may just be that is how it happened. It is difficult to believe it happened 3 times but I suppose stranger things happen at sea!

[Lonicera]

Sadly, I have had this problem in the past on occasion. 
It seems to occur more in birds with a particularly fluffy undercarriage! - Silkies, Pekins, Orpingtons etc. 

My experience was where an egg was broken in the nest & the feathers matt together as it dries making it difficult for the chick to pull back through.  Usually the hen leaves the nest in excitement at being able to enjoy normal mealtimes again & the poor chick is dragged along with her by the neck.  I have known similar, when the weather is bad & the hen gets very wet or muddy or if they tend to dirty the nest more than the average hen - all these things can cause matted feathers.  I have managed to cut a chick free & resuscitate by blowing gently across the beak, but you have to be very quick & obviously this is only possible if the hen has sat still until the moment you open the house door.
It's very sad to see, but unfortunately sometimes out of our control.
Lets hope this was just an unfortunate incidence & better luck with the next hatch - perhaps the weather will be better next time

[Sassy]

I read in a magazine only yesterday that when silkies get wet this can happen. This would confirm what you are saying. Still very unlucky to lose 3 at different times. I suppose it has been very wet - thought I'd mention this just in case anyone hadn't noticed :blink: