I'm a little ashamed to admit this, but one of my hens has been displaying some rather embarrassing behaviour recently... she's been pecking me!
I only have two hens, a BO, who is top hen, and a bluebelle hybrid. Until recently they seemed to accept me as the big lump that supplied the food and tried to get cuddles with them (pretty easily with the BO, but the bluebelle has never been remotely keen).
However, the last few times I have been sitting out with them in their pen, especially if I'm having a cuddle with the BO, the bluebelle has been pecking at me - tugging my clothes, trying to get at my shirt sleeves, picking at the rivets on my jeans, pecking my knees, and generally acting strangely. I thought to start with that she was mistaking my rivets and buttons for possible morsels of food, but she has now started grabbing beakfuls of clothes and tugging and pulling at them, really shaking her head around! (She hasn't tried getting hold of any of my skin yet, just clothes and shoes.)
I tried picking her up in case it was jealously, but no, she still hates cuddles as much as ever and made a huge fuss to be set down again.
Is it possible that I'm bottom of the pecking order now? The BO, at the top, never tries to peck me, so why should her second-in-command be doing it?
It's all a bit embarrassing really... to think that it's possible that a chicken thinks it's better than me!
I only have two hens, a BO, who is top hen, and a bluebelle hybrid. Until recently they seemed to accept me as the big lump that supplied the food and tried to get cuddles with them (pretty easily with the BO, but the bluebelle has never been remotely keen).
However, the last few times I have been sitting out with them in their pen, especially if I'm having a cuddle with the BO, the bluebelle has been pecking at me - tugging my clothes, trying to get at my shirt sleeves, picking at the rivets on my jeans, pecking my knees, and generally acting strangely. I thought to start with that she was mistaking my rivets and buttons for possible morsels of food, but she has now started grabbing beakfuls of clothes and tugging and pulling at them, really shaking her head around! (She hasn't tried getting hold of any of my skin yet, just clothes and shoes.)
I tried picking her up in case it was jealously, but no, she still hates cuddles as much as ever and made a huge fuss to be set down again.
Is it possible that I'm bottom of the pecking order now? The BO, at the top, never tries to peck me, so why should her second-in-command be doing it?
It's all a bit embarrassing really... to think that it's possible that a chicken thinks it's better than me!
