Agressive Hen Attacking Me???????

[TwoCrows]

Quote:
The birds will detest the peepers at first, but they do get used to them and hardly know they are on. The chicken looks silly, but I promise you, it will save the flock. It makes it so they can not see with both eyes directly in front of them so they can not aim, point and fire off their beaks. Wonderful head gear for mean hens!

 

[twilightgecko]

i just found this post as i am having trouble with one of my girls.. i have a flock of 9 gals.. [3 australorps, 3 barred rocks and 3 buff orpingtons.. ] only 3 have started laying.. the one girl that is becoming a problem is one i call Puppy.. [called that cuz she was the sweetest, always following me around on my heels] she is a buff orpington, and HUGE.. far bigger than any of the rest.. she hasn't started laying yet.. by the size of her comb, she is the most immature.. funny since she is the biggest.. she never bullies the other pullets/hens.. but she was my little sidekick, always at my feet.. lately she has become aggressive towards me.. raising her hackles and pecking me hard, lunging at me almost.. definitely not playful.. she gets more aggressive if i push her away.. i've tried taps on her shoulders and picking her up, holding her firmly.. not exactly sure how to show dominance to a chicken.. almost breaks my heart that she is acting like this.. anyway, will try lights taps on the head, or holding her on her back..

 

[Folly's place]

Is she actually a cockerel? It does sound like bad boy behavior, although some pullets can be jerks too. She's escalating her insistence to be the boss, and you may have missed the early signals of this behavior. You can try a squirt gun. or a stick, and don't let her invade your space at all. Walk through her, and don't hand feed. The feeder or waterer might 'accidently' get in her way at times too. I've never had a pullet be this bad, only a few cockerels, and they didn't stay long. Mary

 

[Little Fuzzy]

That looks like a rooster!

 

[Little Fuzzy]

Some of mine do have an extended egg song. One of my Goldens will even get up high and sing.

 

[Little Fuzzy]

My last herd of chickens when I was younger I had two Roosters, one nice, one mean. I always walked to the coop with the broom in my hand and after a couple of swats with the broom the mean Rooster pretty much stayed away from me.He did get nicer as he got older.

 

[twilightgecko]

Puppy.. my aggressive pullet is 25 weeks old..
she is really a HUGE bird, but the most immature.. i am going to try the not hand feeding her and not giving her any attention.. if she persists, i may try a little tap on the head like a peck or turning her on her back.. and this behaviour came on slowly, not suddenly.. she just got bullier with me a little at a time.. the other birds treat me like mama hen.. they treat me like i am at the top of the pecking order, except for her.. and she seems to be on the bottom of the pecking order with the other birds.. these girls are my pets, so i will keep working with her..

 

[centrarchid]

Feed Bucket Aggression. Usually a male thing but females can do it to. Bird learned that rushing up on you frequently results in immediate appearance of fresh food. Nothing is tastier than food that just appeared. In males it can morph into more overt aggression.


Corrective measure I suggest is to spend more time with birds when no feeding involved. Do not give feed bird food when it attacks. I have a group of three free-ranging American Dominique cocks that have been doing it at first because I was in a hurry each morning. To stop I slowed down and did not bring feed out of bucket until roosters stopped trying to prod me. It took a few days but they no longer peck at my feet or flog bucket. Kids real bad about promoting feed bucket aggression as they feed the "hungriest" birds.

 

[Spartan22]

I agree! That sounds like a rooster aggression, but my 2 RIR hens does it to me when I don't pay attention to them. Lately my only speckled Sussex (7 months old) been pecking and latching on my fingers/skin when she pecks, she used to be on the lowest pecking order and just follow me around like lost chick. I simply pick her up and rub the side of her head and pet her like a dog, she will calm down and shake her feathers like someone mate w/ her and she'll go off her way.

 

[Little Fuzzy]

I also have a red sex link that is overly friendly and if I don't pay attention to her she always pecks my leg. She wants to be on my shoulder, but I stopped that when she pecked at my shiny eyeball.