Aggressive hand-pecking behavior?

[Ebz5003]

I have a 15 week old Red Dorking Bantam pullet who was my favorite/ friendliest pullet until recently. She's taken to making a beeline for my hands every time I open the coop door to feed/ water them, and it is constant, aggressive pecking. I have to pull my hands away. I don't normally hand-feed, so I don't think she's looking for treats? Does anyone know the reasons why they do this? Could she be deficient in something? They have constant access to a medicated Purina chick feed and clean water. Occasional kitchen scraps and mealworms. She is not low in the pecking order and doesn't seem to be bullied by any others.

 

[TOMTE]

Could be dominant behavior, could be attention seeking behavior. Don't react in any way, just don't acknowledge when she does it. Pull your hands away, hide them, but don't say or do anything else that would tell her that she's getting a reaction out of you. If she's looking for attention, it'll teach her that hurting you isn't going to work.

I've been working on teaching my girls "gentle" because of the same sort of issue. They love to groom my hair but sometimes get too riled up and end up jabbing my scalp with their beaks and pulling hard on my hair.

So what I started doing was lifting my head back up any time they got too rough. If they still tried going at me, I'd give them a firm "peck" on the back of their head or neck, like a dominant hen would to a subordinate who's stepped out of line. Once they settled, I'd let them continue grooming me. Eventually I introduced the word "gentle", and started speaking softly to them, telling them "good girls, very gentle" when they were minding their manners. Then, if they got rough again, I'd correct them with a quick peck and sternly say "gentle, please". Now they're consistently gentle while grooming my hair!

 

[Ebz5003]

Could be dominant behavior, could be attention seeking behavior. Don't react in any way, just don't acknowledge when she does it. Pull your hands away, hide them, but don't say or do anything else that would tell her that she's getting a reaction out of you. If she's looking for attention, it'll teach her that hurting you isn't going to work.

I've been working on teaching my girls "gentle" because of the same sort of issue. They love to groom my hair but sometimes get too riled up and end up jabbing my scalp with their beaks and pulling hard on my hair.

So what I started doing was lifting my head back up any time they got too rough. If they still tried going at me, I'd give them a firm "peck" on the back of their head or neck, like a dominant hen would to a subordinate who's stepped out of line. Once they settled, I'd let them continue grooming me. Eventually I introduced the word "gentle", and started speaking softly to them, telling them "good girls, very gentle" when they were minding their manners. Then, if they got rough again, I'd correct them with a quick peck and sternly say "gentle, please". Now they're consistently gentle while grooming my hair!

Haha. That's great! I will try not reacting to it first.