Evil hens: UPDATE! A CHANUKAH MIRACLE!!!

[JakRat]

I have two hens that are evil.

They are meaner to the new chicks, they dont let me pick them up, and one hissed at me today while she was sitting on her egg.

I would like to trade them for two other hens of a calmer breed, but would this just turn my coop into a nightmare?

 

[chickchicks]

is she still onthe egg? is so she could be broody - broody hens do tend to his and "act" mean

they are just saying hay in making a baby here leave me alone!

there just protecting they mean no harm there scared you could take away there potential baby.


and chickens willpick on new chickens they are just trying to make sure the new girls learn the ropes and doas they are told and fall in line to become one happy family they will all calmdown eventualy when they are happy with each other,

it all takes time - im sure you would not like it if you woke up inthe moring to find people living in your house with out yor permission -its the samefor them .

 

[aoxa]

In addition to the above post (which I fully agree with

)

Hens that are molting are also very moody. Think of it as chicken PMS.

I think the best way to keep the hens from being this way is to introduce a rooster. My rooster keeps fighting to a minimum. This isn't always possible though (with laws and such).

One or two will always do whatever it takes to run the show.

 

[Mahonri]

In my first set of chickens (in later life) that I got in a rainbow assortment from McMurray, the Barred Rocks were all SHE DEVILS.

Loved the RIRs, Partridge Rocks etc...

Since then I've had BRs from both Cackle and Ideal and they were both so wonderful. Regular lap chickens, loved to be held, hand fed etc....

If I have a hen (or roo) with a bad personality, I never let them reproduce.

 

[aoxa]

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Do not put up with evil BR! They are not supposed to be that way!

Must have been some aggressive genes in your first batch. All of mine are so wonderful.

 

[BrattishTaz]

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x2 What you described does not sound like aggressive behavior to me.

 

[JakRat]

I have a rooster who does the best he can. He is a banty and he teaches them a lesson, but the are still evil. No brody, no molting, just evil. When I went out today one of the BR had jumped over the partition separating the chicks from the rest and she was sitting there and laid an egg just to be like HA this is MY spot... thats when she hissed at me. One of the babies was all the way on the other side or the coop and both had bloody combs. I had to bring them inside to sleep a bit because I dont think they slept much the past two nights. Our rooster goes in and acts like a mama. He pecks them a bit, but eventually they all calm down. The chicks are 8 and 9 weeks old. We have given the BR the names now of Anastasia and Druisella... the evil stepsisters from Cinderella... I really just want to get rid of them, they are nothing but problems... like if I need to pick them up for some reason you would think that I was murdering them and they try to scratch and bite me.

 

[aoxa]

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How old are they?

 

[JakRat]

The barred rocks are 6 months old. the babies are 8 and 9 weeks old.

 

[aoxa]

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How long has it been since you introduced them?