Help! My chicken is biting me!

[bobbi-j]

I do not....never had a situation extreme enough to consider them

Me neither. I don't give them an opportunity to peck me.

 

[Brooksy21]

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.

Does this method work with hens not sure why it wouldn’t but I find most aggressive advice is about roosters not hens. I don’t want to traumatize my bird unnecessarily but I don’t want to cull her and she is asserting dominance. Nothing extreme but if I try to pet her or pick her up she straightens up makes this certain noise and tries to bit. I pecked back immediately but I don’t think I did it hard enough for her to get the picture. Instead of avoiding touching her I’m trying again this time with a little more force. She seems to respect me a little more and will move away from my hand instead of standing up to it. I’m wondering when and if I should use the hold down, pull on her neck? Sounds awful but I know that’s what they do to each other to establish dominance.

 

[aart]

I’m wondering when and if I should use the hold down, pull on her neck?

If the 'pecking' her doesn't work by the 3rd try, then I'd pin her.

 

[Phaedra Geiermann]

Among my 10 adult hens, two will peck me when they are hungry and I am slow in giving them food

Sometimes I will use such a big bowl to mix the feed for them and distribute into different plates in the run. When cockerels will always try to fly and approch to where I prepare their food, two hens peck me on my legs, kind of "hurry, I am starving" message.

One of these two hens (when she is younger) is my favorite one, she also pecked me on my legs when I held other hens first instead of her.

So, I guess they have different messages to express.

 

[Brooksy21]

If the 'pecking' her doesn't work by the 3rd try, then I'd pin her.

It worked, my aggressive authority challenging adolescent hen is cured of her teenage rebellion. a few rounds of pecking back, trying to chase her down to try to pick her up, (which I never could do, she is much too fast) and continual attempts to pet her showing I wasn’t backing down did the trick. At first she was afraid of me and would not come near me, or let me touch her, but I continued to try and pet her while also giving treats. Any sign that she was getting ready to bite, and she got a peck. She eventually stopped trying to get away from my hand, or trying to bite, and the other day she hopped up next to me for pets Yesterday, I received the sign of surrender, she squatted for me! I win! I’m the top hen once again. Thanks for the great advice. Chickens really do respond well to constant discipline, food and love.