Chicken attacking red-capped bottle

[Petra Pancake]

Funny thing happened today: Because it's a freezing cold night, I put just before sunset a plastic bottle filled with warm water into my Bantam coop to warm the thing up a bit. (We don't usually have frost here, so I don't have any heating system or electricity for the chickens.) My timid, shy little Japanese Bantam hen got accidentally stubbed a bit by the bottle and she started pecking at it furiously - not her usual style at all. The bottle had a red plastic cap and she pecked especially at that. Could it be that she thought the red-capped plastic bottle was some weird sort of intruding chicken?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Chickens are attracted to the color red. That's why it's used on feeders and waterers, and that's why they will often continue to peck at a bleeding bird. Red is the color of the combs and wattles which are used visually to tell whether another bird is in breeding condition.

That is funny though, she is a feisty little hen who should be a good mom.