I, too, am so sorry... -What an awful thing to have to wake up to. The only cause that I can possibly imagine is that the mother got into some animal poison, and her trusting chicks followed suit... Did you ever determine the cause?
Again, I am very sorry for your loss. Whatever happened, it was not your fault. It was probably just an accident on the poor mother's part... ~Be well.
RIP Haily. by: Cath
I'm so terribly sorry about Haily and her chicks. What a horrible thing for you to find.
I'm not sure what could have caused this, but it certainly was not a predator, there seems to be no signs of attack at all.
Don't be hard on yourself. These things happen to chickens and there's not always an explanation.