Hen pecking at me unprovoked?

[Kuritsa y Utochka]

Hi all,

I purchased 6 Barred Rock hens about a week ago. I haven't noticed any bullying of any sort among the chickens, just the occasional gentle peck here and there. When I received one of the hens, Wendy, she had a slight tuft of feathers missing on her back, but no open wound or broken skin was in that location. She seemed completely fine and unaffected by the missing feathers, and appears to be second in the pecking order (first in the apparent pecking order appears to be the large black hen, Courtney, to the left of Wendy in one of the attached images.

Wendy pecks at me, especially my legs, whenever she can. It's very painful, and I spend most of my time in the enclosure running away from her as she is very aggressive towards me (not toward other hens, however). All the other hens are very sweet and show no aggression, letting me hold them and pet them whenever I please. I have not done anything that I know of to hurt Wendy - in fact I feed her out of my palm most days until I can no longer deal with the pain from her chomping my fingers.

I've attached several images of Wendy, a couple of other hens, and many close-ups of the area in which her feathers are missing. Any help is much appreciated. Have a nice day.

Kuritsa

 

[Kiki]

Is this moldy?

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Wear pants and knee high wellies to protect your legs. Do not feed her treats out of your hand or try to hold her. Do allow her to attack your hand or any other body part until you can’t stand it anymore. You are telling her that she can do as she pleases. If she comes at you peck her back with your finger hard a good 5-10 times. I’m not joking.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Is she pecking or scratching with her beak? Do you have freckles, especially on your legs? Chickens like to peck those, along with bug bites and other things that look out of place.

With my hens, they peck and scratch me a lot. (A part of my hand is still red from one of them scratching at my hand hours ago...) My hens are super friendly and their pecking isn't because they are mean. They're pecking me because they associate me with treats. They think (especially the one who got my hand earlier), that if they peck or scratch me just right, that I'll give them all the treats they want.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Wear pants and knee high wellies to protect your legs. Do not feed her treats out of your hand or try to hold her. Do allow her to attack your hand or any other body part until you can’t stand it anymore. You are telling her that she can do as she pleases. If she comes at you peck her back with your finger hard a good 5-10 times. I’m not joking.

(I keep finding you on the threads I'm on tonight and you keep posting before I finish my post. )

2x this. On the pecking her back, I've done this too. If you can find the spot where she gets offended (she'll do a little sound because she's not happy where you touched her), it'll sometimes work faster. Some hens this is the back of the head, others it's the back of their neck. (Don't 'peck' her in those places too hard, just hard enough for her to get the point, and 5-10 times if necessary as suggested above.) Another thing you can do is touch her beak. They don't necessarily like that, so sometimes that works. Picking her up and holding her upsidedown by her feet is another option. (Professionals do this. I suggest holding her by her upper legs so she doesn't try uprighting herself.) All these options may have to be done several times. If she's like my hen Betty, (the hen who left a mark on my hand) protective gear (pants, or gloves in my Betty's case) may be your only option unless you rehome her or send her to freezer camp. (If she's pecking over treats like my hen does, she may be super friendly and is just not showing it right.)

 

[Kuritsa y Utochka]

Is this moldy?View attachment 3471762

Yes, it is. Is that not good for them? Beginner's lack of knowledge here.

 

[Kuritsa y Utochka]

Is she pecking or scratching with her beak? Do you have freckles, especially on your legs? Chickens like to peck those, along with bug bites and other things that look out of place.

With my hens, they peck and scratch me a lot. (A part of my hand is still red from one of them scratching at my hand hours ago...) My hens are super friendly and their pecking isn't because they are mean. They're pecking me because they associate me with treats. They think (especially the one who got my hand earlier), that if they peck or scratch me just right, that I'll give them all the treats they want.

She doesn't scratch much, more of a hard peck. I have no freckles, but large scrapes on both of my legs, and a few moles too.

So I shouldn't be giving her treats out of my hand?

 

[Kuritsa y Utochka]

(I keep finding you on the threads I'm on tonight and you keep posting before I finish my post. )

2x this. On the pecking her back, I've done this too. If you can find the spot where she gets offended (she'll do a little sound because she's not happy where you touched her), it'll sometimes work faster. Some hens this is the back of the head, others it's the back of their neck. (Don't 'peck' her in those places too hard, just hard enough for her to get the point, and 5-10 times if necessary as suggested above.) Another thing you can do is touch her beak. They don't necessarily like that, so sometimes that works. Picking her up and holding her upsidedown by her feet is another option. (Professionals do this. I suggest holding her by her upper legs so she doesn't try uprighting herself.) All these options may have to be done several times. If she's like my hen Betty, (the hen who left a mark on my hand) protective gear (pants, or gloves in my Betty's case) may be your only option unless you rehome her or send her to freezer camp. (If she's pecking over treats like my hen does, she may be super friendly and is just not showing it right.)

How do I "peck" her? Just tap my finger?

 

[3KillerBs]

How do I "peck" her? Just tap my finger?

Make a beak from your thumb and first 2 fingers and use it to tap her firmly several times rapidly until she submits by leaving your vicinity.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

She doesn't scratch much, more of a hard peck. I have no freckles, but large scrapes on both of my legs, and a few moles too.

So I shouldn't be giving her treats out of my hand?

She might be going after the scrapes and moles. Anything that looks out of place might look like something she should peck. Wearing pants around her might be a good option- at least to see if that's why she's pecking.

How do I "peck" her? Just tap my finger?

Do like what 3KillerBs suggested.

Yes, it is. Is that not good for them? Beginner's lack of knowledge here.

Mold can be deadly to chickens. If you wouldn't see it safe to eat, then chances are it's not safe for them to eat either.