Chickens chase me then stop.

[tigerpie]

Hello,
A couple of months ago I got my first 2 chickens.
I believe they where caged chickens for eggs.
Initially they seemed a little nervous about coming out of there coop, but after a week they where free ranging all over my yard ( I have 2 acres they can play in). I would have to "shoo" them up to the coop of a night as I could not get near them to pick them. But then they started letting me pick them up and I would carry them up to the coop.
This was all fine and dandy for a few months. I would give them layer pellets and scraps to start with (mainly fruit and veg, but also a little beef and ham) and I noticed they seemed to not like the layer pellets, so I changed to a scratch mix, which they seem to eat more off.

However I noticed that one of them started to chase me down whenever I was near it in the yard...
she would bolt at me when I had my back turned, but as soon as I turned around and looked at her, she would stop dead and pretend to be pecking the ground for food.
As this is the first time I have owned chickens it sort of "weirded" me out a bit.
Then I noticed she would take longer and longer before she stopped
Then the other one started doing it.
Which sort of freaked me out, it was if they where going to attack me.
So I was always walking and turn around, and walking backwards to get away from them.

I am sort of used to them now continuing to do this, and when they are close to me, within arms distance I just make sure I am looking at them and they so far haven't attacked.. ( I don't think they will, but I don't know how else to explain it.)

My neighbor has 11 chickens, and I let them out of the pen of a morning and feed them of a night when he is away. I have no issues like this with his chickens, just my 2.

From what I have read, i can only put it down to them thinking I am going to feed them. But they do this even just as I feed them.
They seem more interested in chasing me down then eating there food..

Has anyone else experienced this before or have another explanation / theory?

Cheers guys

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

It seems that they are asserting dominace over you. Simply stand your ground or walk at them when they do this. Roosters frequently do this but without a roo your girls feel they must protect themselves. Hopefully they will cease once they see tha tyou are 'dominate hen'.
One concern for their diet. Scratch does not contain all of the nutreints that a hen needs. They seem to eat it more than the pellets because to them scratch is more appealing. I call it 'chicken candy' and it should be fed as such! You wouldn't feed nothing but cake and cookies to a child!

 

[tigerpie]

OK thanks TaraBellaBirds.
I will double check it is actually scratch mix.

and I will stand my ground more!

Thanks for the advice.


Oh, btw.
How much Layer pellets should I give them?
Should I only put out what they will eat in a day, or can I put heaps into a bowl and just top it up ever day or every few days?

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

The food access depends on your preferences. Do you have a pest problem, like mice? If not then it might be alright to keep their feeder full 24/7. I have a large flock and in the warm seasons I feed in the morning and free-range during the day. In the winter I leave the feeder full. This insures that they have food to burn energy to keep warm.
The choice should be based on your personal schedual and needs.

 

[tigerpie]

Thanks Tara,
So far so good with the pest problem.. or lack of.
The coop uses "chicken wire" with relatively small holes, and also has a roof of chicken wire.
Granted small mice could get in if they wanted, but I have as yet seen no traces of other smaller pests.

I saw a bird in their the other day :-(, I couldn't catch the **** thing and spent probably an hour flying straight into the roof... even though the door was open.
I opened the drop down doors on the pen / coop sleeping area and it eventually got out that way.. I felt bad for the bird but couldn't do anything.

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

Good thing for the bird that your chickens didn't catch it! I have seen them go after mice, birds, snakes, and anything else that won't eat them first!