grouchy hen

[sherrihargrove]

one of my hens not yet laying has started attacking my shoes everytime I go into the coop. Has she lost her mind?

 

[sumi]

She may be hormonal and close to laying. Sometimes, before they start laying, my pullets get a bit moody, but once the eggs start showing up, they calm down again.

 

[N F C]

x2 on what Sumi said. One of our RSL's went nuts shortly before she began laying. Got to the point I was nervous going into the run & coop because she would peck me so hard. She calmed down quite a bit once she started laying and now is much more gentle when she wants attention. Hopefully yours is going through the same phase and calms down with laying.

 

[azygous]

What do you mean by "attacking"? Is the hen coming up and flogging your shoes and ankles, wings flapping and neck feathers flared? That would be attacking, and it could indicate she's feeling threatened by you. Or she finds something extremely offensive about your foot wear.

If she's just pecking at your shoes, that could indicate a lot of different things. Hens peck shoes when they see something on them that grabs their attention, such as a shiny feature. Or she could be seeing something on your shoe she believes is edible. Or she could simply be trying to get your attention. Chickens communicate, as well as gather information, with their beaks.

Which one are we talking about?

 

[Just sayin]

Are you sure she's a hen?

 

[sumi]

Are you sure she's a hen?

I've been beaten up by a few hens. They can be just as mean as cockerels if they've a mind too. Especially when they are broody.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The word “attack” conjures up some pretty strong images. Maybe a bit better description of what she is actually doing could help. In addition to the other questions, is it just one certain pair of shoes or maybe a certain pair of pant legs instead attacking no matter what you are wearing?

A bit about your flock might help too. Are they all the same age? Any fairly mature males? Is she the dominant chicken in there?

 

[Just sayin]

I've no doubt it can happen, but since this is a young bird I wondered if it's reaching the age when we realize it is not a hen at all

 

[sherrihargrove]

she is def. a hen, and has a red face eyes comb and waddle not laying yet but prob soon i carry a stick not to hit but to show i can she and the rooster got the message when they both flew up to it. i didn't them they hit the stick then they left me alone to finish what I was doing. the rooster follows me to the gate and as i leave he jumps with both feet at the gate. He is a jerk. my husband is building a "pimp palace" he will be separated used only to breed until he can be replaced. a black australorp.

 

[topdog24]

one of my hens not yet laying has started attacking my shoes everytime I go into the coop. Has she lost her mind?

If you have shoes with colored shoe strings or other color patch's, especially bright like red,orange yellow bright green,blue purple, your chicken is sataisfiying it curiosity, you should never wear red beause they relate red to open wounds and will attack anything red as they see red as a weaknes among the flock, for instance, if you have chickens that get picked on till there is raw red wound, this only makes them pick more and try to destroy the weak link in their society, this is why it is so important to cover open wounds with blue lotion or some dark color salve, Roosters are worse than hens about this.