Aggressive hen

woodlandd

Chirping
Sep 26, 2021
23
80
89
BC, Canada
I have three seven month old buff orpington hens that I hand raised since they were five days old. One is exactly like you'd imagine an orpington to be like—incredibly sweet and docile and cuddly. The smallest one is more shy, louder, and doesn't like being held for long.

The biggest one is somewhat of a paradox. She loves sitting on my lap the most and will immediately start sunbathing and cuddling on me if I sit down, and absolutely adores scratches and pets. The moment she sees my fingers though, she'll clamp down on them. Hard. She knows it's the same hand that pets her and she sees me petting the other two, but she'll actively chase my hand if it's within 6 inches of her. She also likes to bite my mouth if it's within reach. I've bled several times from her doing this, but the other two have never bit me even once. I don't know why she does this. She's at the top of the pecking order for sure, but she still sees me as the rooster and will squat if I come near her.

These mixed behaviours are confusing me. She's been like this for at least a month or two, so I'm pretty sure its not just hormones. Any advice at all on how to change this or why she acts like this would be greatly appreciated.
 
I've heard a few theories about how chickens think of us. Usually as part of the flock in some way - part of the pecking order or as a rooster.

I think it isn't that clear cut. My theory is that chickens are extremely driven by instinct.

When I act enough like a rooster (bringing food, calling them for food, whispering sweet nothings, finding nesting sites, exclaiming over eggs) then they treat me as a rooster. When I'm not acting as a rooster (sitting with them, letting them hop up on them, ect), then they treat me as part of the landscape.

Chickens eat as much of their landscape as they can. Including each other whenever they can get away with it.

I'm convinced that when my chickens look me in the face intently while I talk to them that they do not care at all what I'm telling them. What they are doing is working out two things - how to go about eating me and whether they can get away with it if they started eating me. This conviction is because they have tried to eat my lips, ears, eyebrows, eyeballs, and nose. As in, those are what they have actually gone after. They've gone after fingers too but I'm not sure it is for the same reasons.

I still sit with them. And let them hop up on my legs or lower arms. And I talk to them as if they are listening intently. Because I like that regardless of how they see it.

I don't let them eat me.

My natural reaction is to lean away to dodge their attempt. This encourages them to go after me. What discourages them is to lean toward them with an "in your face" attitude until they give way. How much attitude depends on which hen it is and how confident she is. If I've drifted into leaning way very much then it takes a lot more attitude to back her up. Or at least to back her up without getting pecked.

If it is any but Spice, any slight backing up is enough for a long time. If it is Spice, simply backing her up sometimes delays her attempts for only a brief pause. I often have to back her up to where she actually moves off with some hustle. The difference is how much attitude I put into it - a combination of eye contact, how squarely I face her, and how quickly I move, and the tone of my voice.)

I don't know if this is because Spice is top hen (she is), or because she is MUCH more of a forager than the others (she always has been), or some other reason.

For fingers, I try to make them unavailable or unattractive as food. When that has failed, I squawk, flap, and back her up all at once - as much like Spice does in a similar situation as I can. The details are less important than timing and intent.

I don't think chickens think about which instinct they are following or whether following one instinct and then another results in me being a really weird rooster/hen/landscape entity.
 

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