Help! My chicken is biting me!

[haasle]

Hello all -

I am new to raising chickens, and I have 4 that are 20 weeks old. 2 cinnamon queens and 2 NH Reds. The other day, one of the chickens came at me and bit me in the arm when I was trying to get her back into the coop....well today, same thing, except she actually tried to jump up and bite my hand! As chicks, I tried to pick each one of them up every day to get them used to being handled. As older chickens, I will pet them a lot, but truthfully, I am not all that interested in cuddling with them. I pick them up if I need to, give them a pat on the head and put them down again. Except for this one...
I bring them treats all the time, so they should be associating me with food and that's a positive thing right? Why is she going at me like this? Is this just a thing that chickens do? And how do I stop if?? They haven't laid any eggs yet, but could this be a sign that she is about to lay one? I really don't want to be afraid of my own chicken, but these bites hurt!!

 

[chicmom]

Hello, are you sure they're all hens? Could this aggressive chicken be male? Roosters can be very aggressive. I had a very mean rooster years ago. I actually had to carry a rolled up (I taped it) magazine sticking out of my back pocket and when he would come at me I'd give him a whack with it. But he was relentless. He even tried to sneak up behind me and peck the back of my calf. I finally re-homed him, because I just didn't enjoy going to the chicken coop with him around. I've had an aggressive hen before too, but nothing to the level of aggression that the rooster had. She would peck me, and I just grabbed her up and held her like a football under my arm as I did my chores. She was quite the character.

 

[GmaClucky]

Are you sure the chicken is a hen? Because some types of roosters are territorial and will attack you when you enter their space. Usually you have to cull the ones who do that because if they haven't calmed down from you picking them up every day, then they probably aren't going to. If my pens aren't breeding pens, I usually put an EE roo in them because they do the rooster stuff - warning of varmints, showing food, etc, without being aggressive to humans. Rarely will a hen attack you and then only when you're reaching into the nest and she doesn't want you there, and then it's usually only a warning peck.

 

[Birdinhand]

if it's a hen, it may be a matter of it being at the top of the pecking order and thinking you are lower than it, I've heard of this happening. I would act more alpha around them, show it whose boss, maybe carry a stick and direct them with it. Once it accepts that it's not the alpha, it should settle down... unless its actually a rooster, in which case you might just want to move it along to a new home or off to freezer camp.

 

[bobbi-j]

Could you post pictures of the one that's pecking you? Good, close pictures of the feathers around the bottom of the neck and on the lower back would be especially helpful. Take a good look at this bird. Does it look just like the other one of the same breed? Or are the comb and wattles maybe a bit larger and more red? How about the legs - are they longer or sturdier looking than the other one of that breed?

It's possible you have a cockerel on your hands, or you could have a very dominant pullet. You are correct in that she may be associating you with food. If that's the case, you may want to back off on the treats for a while. If it pecks you and you immediately give it a treat to make it stop, you have trained the chicken to keep pecking at you.

If it were my bird, I'd stop the treats. I would also stop the cuddling and petting, and put some distance between me and the bird. I'd make it move away every time I went to the coop. I'd "walk through" it. Meaning I wouldn't go around it. If it were between me and where I wanted to go, it would move, not me.

 

[lazy gardener]

What BJ says. In addition, I'd one up her. I'd spend some time making her move out of my way every day. Easiest to accomplish this by using a thin switch or stick as an extension of your arm. If she doesn't move away, gently tap her tail feathers. She'll get the message. Treat her just the same way you'd treat an aggressive roo: never let her into "your space" make her wait for her meals. Feed the other girls first. A few days of this should have her attitude readjusted.

 

[Sara Ranch]

From a different perspective, make sure she is alright.

Is she hungry?

Does she have cocidius?

Does she have mites/lice?

Does she have an injury that weren't did not know about?

Is she being picked on by the other chickens? (Unlikely, but possible.)

Does she have enough room to walk, to run, to play, to rest in shade, to have alone time?

SOMETHING is making her angry.

I'll grant that there are just some plain old meanie chickens out there. But usually, there is a reason for it.

I've had two cockerels bite me. Both came from a very different environment prior to being adopted here. Both were bullies. Both went into time outs. Turns out both have an eye sight problem. I work with them differently than I do with the other adoptees. They need a bit more help/care/love. They get along with everyone else now, including me.

*** Yes, I put chickens into time out. You bite me, you go into time out. You chase another animal, you go into time out. You gang up on another animal, you go into time out. You are being a bully, you go into time out. Time out is either staying in their room (in the barn) or going into a small run by themselves. Chickens are social animals. They don't like the isolation. For me, the time outs have worked well.

This is my ranch and I am the boss. I treat you with respect. You treat me with respect. You treat everyone else with respect. No one acts bossy. We all get along. That's how it works.

 

[aart]

Have had this happen several times, mostly with hand fed chicks often as they come of age and get spunky. It's pretty easily curbed with calm and deliberate determination.

I peck them back, on the head or anywhere I can reach, with the tips of thumb and first 2 fingers, as hard and fast as many times as I can before they get away. Well, not hard enough to hurt them, just startle them and let them you mean business. That's what another chicken would do, so they understand that kind of communication.

If that doesn't work after a couple applications, I hold them down to the ground with my hand on their back until they submit....again firmly enough to get the job done but not hurt them....add a few finger pecks and/or tug on the feathers on the back of their neck.

 

[runnermom]

Mine will jump and peck my hands if they think I have something for them to eat.

 

[TominWa]

Mine will jump and peck my hands if they think I have something for them to eat.

Mine do that too, I don't feel it is aggressive....just what you got in your hand? Spoiled girls!