Buff orpington hen attacking my kids

[Beakadoodle]

We have added three chickens to our flock this year. Two Buff Orpingtons and one Silver Laced Wyandotte. They are at the 20 or so week mark and have integrated with our older flock of six. Only the Wyandotte has started laying. Over the last couple weeks one of our Buffs has started attacking my kids quite aggressively. Even breaking the skin. She mainly goes after my 9 year old daughter and 12 year old son. My older son she leaves alone, and up until today, I have had no issues either. She got my daughter good today and when we layer went to the run to observe, I intervened to keep her from pecking and she came at me! She fluffed her feathers and sounded like she was growling! I have never had a people aggressive hen and I'm so disappointed. We got the buffs because of what I'd read about their wonderful temperament. I'm at a loss of what to do. But my kids adore their chickens and now they are scared and don't want to be around them for fear of getting attacked.


Side note: My kids are well behaved around the chickens and not harassing them in any way.
I had told the kids to peck back at her and gently hold her down if she went in to attack mode. Hoping it would establish pecking order if that's what it is.

I'm going to insert a picture of "Bertha" I thought possibly she could be a Roo, but both buffs look the same to me. There are two pictures. One by herself and the other next to our other buff for comparison. Bertha is on the right.

If anyone has any helpful suggestions or insight, I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[SourRoses]

It's unusual for a hen to be aggressive unless people have antagonized or dreadfully spoiled them in some way, but it still happens (rarely) that one naturally has a lot of aggression.
If you don't want to get rid of her, one thing you can try to set her attitude back is confinement. Keep her contained in sight of the others so she's not too stressed, and make sure she will be safe and have her needs met. But she doesn't get to interact with the flock which means she will lose her status and hopefully knock off the attitude. Being able to see her but not get rushed by her should help your kids feel more confident, so that when you let her out in a week or two they are not backing off acting afraid anymore.
One of the more helpful rules with animal training is to not back up. One should move forward, sideways, or turn and walk slowly away while ready to pivot and walk forward again... but never walk backwards as a great many animal species take it as a sign of submission.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Is she broody? Sounds like my girls when they're letting those hormones control them

 

[JedJackson]

Is Bertha possibly broody? That can lead to aggressive behavior in hens. Otherwise, I think you have to work out what is best for you and your family. I'd either sell her or give the kids some tennis raquets for protection.

 

[SueT]

Your kids don’t need this, sell her. We have poultry swaps here. You could look into swaps in your area, use Craigslist or other online forums. Good luck, keep us updated….

 

[Beakadoodle]

Is she broody? Sounds like my girls when they're letting those hormones control them

No, she has not even started laying yet. Aside from her red comb and waddles, she's not doing the crouch behavior that all my chickens exhibited right before they started laying.

 

[nuthatched]

Buffs tend to be jerks, I wouldn't keep her if possible

 

[Beakadoodle]

It's unusual for a hen to be aggressive unless people have antagonized or dreadfully spoiled them in some way, but it still happens (rarely) that one naturally has a lot of aggression.
If you don't want to get rid of her, one thing you can try to set her attitude back is confinement. Keep her contained in sight of the others so she's not too stressed, and make sure she will be safe and have her needs met. But she doesn't get to interact with the flock which means she will lose her status and hopefully knock off the attitude. Being able to see her but not get rushed by her should help your kids feel more confident, so that when you let her out in a week or two they are not backing off acting afraid anymore.
One of the more helpful rules with animal training is to not back up. One should move forward, sideways, or turn and walk slowly away while ready to pivot and walk forward again... but never walk backwards as a great many animal species take it as a sign of submission.

They have been very well cared for and we even noticed how much more friendly and cuddly the buffs have been compared to our other chickens when they were little. So the sudden change in behavior has thrown us for a loop. My older son has done a good job of standing his ground with her. But because my daughter has gotten nailed so hard by her before, she tends to show fear. I also noticed when she does try to stand her ground with the hen, the hen gets even more aggressive. I was hoping we could do some behaviour modification or possibly she might chill after she starts laying.

 

[SueT]

hoping we could do some behaviour modification or possibly she might chill after she starts laying.

When children are being attacked, I think the time is past for behavior modifications. It’s not worth the risk, the kids are more important than any chicken. Getting rid of this bully will bring a sigh of relief to everyone, and the kids can enjoy chicken keeping again.

 

[aart]

Have these birds been hand fed?
Is the attack happening during a certain activity or just out of the blue?