Hen Attacking Me Daily

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

I wonder.... I had a Tom (adult male turkey) He was sweetness itself, except if you tried to go into his pen when he was in it. If I reached a hand in front of him (to bring a bowl of food or water ) he would lose his mind and try to peck me. I had to make sure his bowls were set up before he came in for the night.

It was about personal space for him. He could not stand a human hand in his face. (Human hands look a lot like bird feet... He took it as an agressive/confrontational act)

 

[SilverBirds]

You need to establish that you are in charge. I like @SourRoses idea about bringing a rake or some other means of defense with you when you go out to the coop. If she moves to close for comfort gently push her to the side. If she starts to attack hold her down for a few seconds Be persistent and don't back down.

 

[Annabellaa]

Why are you not defending yourself?

- Never again allow her to perch on you.
It's a good idea to not let any chickens on your shoulders / near your face. But if you simply must do it, only do it with well-behaved chickens.
She doesn't respect you. She isn't going to wake up one morning and decide she's done biting you. She needs to be firmly set down in the social ranking between you two and that can't happen while she's using you as furniture (from her perspective).

- No more cover-ups.
Instead of trying to avoid your chickens wrath by changing all your habits, you need to face it and overcome it.
I'd go out there everyday with some skin showing. Bring along a large plastic rake to shoo (not hurt or terrify, just shoo) her away from your ankles. If she doesn't yield to the rake you can push her with the flat side and twist the handle so it turns side to side bumping her, that should be annoying enough to make her move. You don't have to be mean, just consistent. Sooner or later she will respect the rake, when she always keeps a respectful distance you can then work your way down with smaller objects, until you are just carrying a stick. After that you can use your finger and if she comes up close you can gently "peck" her on the back of her head.

- Don't give treats or let her see treats for many months until this terrible behavior is broken.

I didn’t know that perching was something she did to establish dominance. It does make a lot of sense tho I will stop allowing her to jump up. I am to some degree defending myself. Everytime she pecks I stomp my feet which she doesn’t even flinch at. I’ve tried submitting her, putting her between my legs and gently pushing her upperhalf towards the ground (which was advice from a friend this does help for a little bit but an hour or two later she’s back to her ways . I clean their coop with a small rake and have used it more than once to push her gently or rattle or create a barrier, she is very gutsy and is the only one who isn’t afraid of it and doesn’t often flee from it. I’ve tried flipping her upside down in my arms as well as rocking her while upside down. Unfortunately it hasn’t gotten above -8 where I live so I work in coveralls and boots but I do not where gloves when I work so I do not put any on when tending to the birds or their coop regardless of her pecking. When my other hens come to get attention and sit on my lap with me while I do things if she approaches I push her away or shake a bag to show her she can’t just come bully another hen out of my lap. She doesn’t peck other hens at all unless they are hanging out with me which I make sure does not happen all of my other hens are very loving. An occasional peck but usually accidental when I’m giving treats. The perching definitely makes sense and maybe that’s where I’m messing up. She used to be fine and love it but one day something just flipped in her head.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

Never again allow her to perch on you.
It's a good idea to not let any chickens on your shoulders / near your face. But if you simply must do it, only do it with well-behaved chickens.

I love to let them, but @SourRoses is completely right. I have even had scratches on my face from a duck, so, if those feet can scratch imagine what an angry peck could do to an eye.

No more parrot behaviours, no more face access

 

[Annabellaa]

You need to establish that you are in charge. I like @SourRoses idea about bringing a rake or some other means of defense with you when you go out to the coop. If she moves to close for comfort gently push her to the side. If she starts to attack hold her down for a few seconds Be persistent and don't back down.

I definitely think I need to be more persistent (if you read my reply to their comment you can find a longer explaination) I do defend myself but I can see how perching and other behaviours may completely negate all of the dominant defences I am using. I unfortunately have a soft spot for my girls and somehow that’s led to penguin deciding that blood letting is the best course of action

 

[Annabellaa]

I love to let them, but @SourRoses is completely right. I have even had scratches on my face from a duck, so, if those feet can scratch imagine what an angry peck could do to an eye.

No more parrot behaviours, no more face access

I love to let them too, and I have other hens that I can allow but as I’m reading replies I’m realizing that certain activities are a reward for good behaviour and not the base line. I’ve been defending myself and trying remedies from online but I’ve been contradicting myself with allowing her to come and sit on my lap and arms. She lost face access after the eyeball peck tho lol. It’s so strange how it just flipped one day. She used to hang out with me all day long up until a month ago, always wanted to be around me and fell asleep on me every chance she got. Somewhere along the line I have been teaching her bad manners I guess

 

[jus10inla]

Yea… nah… she Wouldnt do that to me but twice. Then football practice starts. 1 more time and broomstick / seperate head from neck ensues

 

[Annabellaa]

I wonder.... I had a Tom (adult male turkey) He was sweetness itself, except if you tried to go into his pen when he was in it. If I reached a hand in front of him (to bring a bowl of food or water ) he would lose his mind and try to peck me. I had to make sure his bowls were set up before he came in for the night.

It was about personal space for him. He could not stand a human hand in his face. (Human hands look a lot like bird feet... He took it as an agressive/confrontational act)

Unfortunately it happens outside of the coop as well and she seeks me out I usually don’t approach my hens I allow them to come to me. The only person she doesn’t do it too funny enough is my dad who she barely sees. All of my siblings and anyone near her she attacks my dad for some reason she just will not mess with (he’s pretty scary to be fair lol)

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

I had a mean girl whom I tried to "educate" in all the traditional ways of showing I was above her in the pecking order, but it didn't work.

I cured her meanness with kindness.

When I caught her being mean to another her instead of scolding her I picked her up and held her gently against me and whispered sweet sounds into her ear. Something about that was disconcerting and she became much more confident and less aggressive.

Don't forget that chickens fight because they are afraid for their safety. The hen at the top doesn't fight, the ones at the bottom with low access to resources are the ones who fight.

Maybe she was your favorite and she lost her status?

 

[Annabellaa]

Yea… nah… she Wouldnt do that to me but twice. Then football practice starts. 1 more time and broomstick / seperate head from neck ensues

Hahaha I wish I had the guts! I’ve definitely been close to launching her I’ll be honest. I’ve had a lot of cattle and other livestock and I know sometimes that’s just the way it goes but I’ve become unreasonably attached to the chickens and couldn’t cull them even if I wanted to.