Hen aggressiveness

[Sizzlepop816]

I have two New Hampshire Red hens that I had for a few years in which one of the hens seems to be aggressive towards me. Her aggression seems to always be directed at my shoes as if she views them as if they were a separate creature. She normally is calm and very docile and it doesn't even matter what type of shoes I wear. She seems to attack me when I walk away from where she is even if I am not near her and she will charge at me and begin nipping at my heels. When I turn around she has her hackles raised and one wing lowered to the ground. Sometimes when I go to the coop in the morning I have noticed that when I am in her sight she will lower one wing and peck aggressively at the floor. I would like to know the reason behind the cause of this behavior and what I can do.

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

RIRs are more of a aggressive breed. I had a sebright who started out all sweet and cuddly but then attacked me and pecked me. (We had to get rid of her.) You may try separating your hen for about a day so she gets confused with the changes. After that talk to her all the time. Then hand feed her some treats. Then, if she is more comfortable, you can handle her.

Hope it works out!

 

[drumstick diva]

You could try carrying a plastic spray bottle filled with water, set it to stream so you have control over where it goes. When she goes after your shoes, the spray goes after her. You have to be consistent so carry the bottle with you. I would think several times of being sprayed might register in her chicken brain.

I've heard of people being pecked when wearing sandals or flip flops, or women with red nail polish but, if she's doing it with different kinds of footwear she just has it in for you.

If you don't have a rooster in your flock, she may have promoted herself to that station.

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC! Glad you decided to join our flock. X2 on RIRs being more of an aggressive breed. I've had some aggressive RIR hens in the past, which is why I no longer have the breed. Mountain Peeps has given you some good suggestions. If those don't work, you can always put some pinless peepers on her. If you're not familiar with them, you can see them at http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/pinless_peepers.html. They prevent the aggressive hen from being able to see things right in front of her to peck at them, and yet the hen is still able to eat and drink using her peripheral vision. Please feel free to ask any other questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck with your RIR hen.

 

[sumi]

Welcome to BYC

You got some good advice here. Best of luck!

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

That pebble picking is aggression towards you. They lean down and pick at stones while looking up at you. I have a hen that went this way and I had to use pinless peepers on her. A flock without a rooster can turn some hens a bit aggressive. I had to use the peepers on her on and off for 3 years. She is 3 1/2 now and hasn't had to wear them this year. Yet. They stop the bird from being able to aim and point the beak so they can't bite you or the other birds. They can see up, down and to the sides.

Chances are she is not going to improve. So if she gets so bad, Pinless Peepers are an option.

Good luck and welcome to our flock!

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! Good luck with your hen.

 

[Stormy Cashmere]

I have 6 hens that try to kill anything smaller than them. They will mass peck stuff,chase it,and tear it. They've even done it to my 1 year old goose,but now she's in a separate coop.They aren't scared of 100 pound dogs by their coop. Luckily,they are in a secure,enclosed area. I was just wondering if they're supposed to be like this?

 

[ChickyChickens]

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