Hen being aggressive towards me..

[Sclark0012]

I have a welsummer/EE mix I hatched in May of this year. She is a mean thing! I have a cockerel in there with her, and 8 other hens. She is aggressive with me. She will follow me close, peck at my legs. She jumps and gets my hands, and the other day, she grabbed onto my pants and held on, thrashing about like as if a puppy grabbed on playing and wouldnt let go. She's lost her little hen mind. Any advice? Thanks!!

 

[Kholts]

I’m currently dealing with the same situation though not as bad.

I definitely have a may hatch BYM hen that fronts as a rooster. I do not have a rooster in there though.

She’s the first to come to my feet sounding like a velociraptor, posturing & peckin at anything she can reach. She’ll follow me all through the coop until I leave continuing the behaviour.

When I lean down to pet her or push her out of my way she just gets louder & pecks harder.

She hasn’t drawn blood or started jump attacking so she’s harmless to me at the moment.

 

[Sclark0012]

I’m currently dealing with the same situation though not as bad.

I definitely have a may hatch BYM hen that fronts as a rooster. I do not have a rooster in there though.

She’s the first to come to my feet sounding like a velociraptor, posturing & peckin at anything she can reach. She’ll follow me all through the coop until I leave continuing the behaviour.

When I lean down to pet her or push her out of my way she just gets louder & pecks harder.

She hasn’t drawn blood or started jump attacking so she’s harmless to me at the moment.

Yes! That is how mine started. She follows me everywhere doing this. Hopefully we can both figure it out. I'm assuming if you got a rooster, it would stop her behavior. I have a feeling since my roo is still young, he hasn't asserted his dominance. I'm about to put my hen with my other, mature roo and see if she cuts the behavior.

 

[Iluveggers]

Do you have a pic? Is she laying yet?

 

[Sclark0012]

Do you have a pic? Is she laying yet?

I have 2 out of the 3 I hatched laying, so I dont know if she is one of them laying or not. But this is her.

 

[Kholts]

Yes! That is how mine started. She follows me everywhere doing this. Hopefully we can both figure it out. I'm assuming if you got a rooster, it would stop her behavior. I have a feeling since my roo is still young, he hasn't asserted his dominance. I'm about to put my hen with my other, mature roo and see if she cuts the behavior.

I unfortunately am not zoned for roosters. I’m a backyard keeper.

I’m hoping maybe her attitude will change once she starts laying. She hasn’t started yet.

 

[The WinterWolf]

Yes! That is how mine started. She follows me everywhere doing this. Hopefully we can both figure it out. I'm assuming if you got a rooster, it would stop her behavior. I have a feeling since my roo is still young, he hasn't asserted his dominance. I'm about to put my hen with my other, mature roo and see if she cuts the behavior.

maybe it's her personality.. do you go out and feed her? i'm not suspecting your starving her, but maybe, like my chicks, they think you can just pull food out of your pocket. and like mine, they bite me, they jump at me, and when i feed them they calm down

 

[Sclark0012]

maybe it's her personality.. do you go out and feed her? i'm not suspecting your starving her, but maybe, like my chicks, they think you can just pull food out of your pocket. and like mine, they bite me, they jump at me, and when i feed them they calm down

I do feed her. They never run out of food lol. They are definitely spoiled chickens. Regardless of what I do out there, shes never far behind with her antics!

 

[Lizzy733]

With no other rooster in the flock, you're it.

Chickens can fight pretty brutally, as we're all aware. Unfortunately, ignoring it is unlikely to resolve the issue.

When I have a mean spirited hen, I dominate them - this means catching and pinning your bird, or tugging their hackles, or poking them between the shoulder blades - none of this is done with the intention to injure, mind you, but with the intention to show them who's in charge using a toned down version of the behavior they show each other. If they escalate, I escalate until they submit.

My hens don't attack me, but I do use this to break up fights during integration and it's very successful.

As I'm now raising roos, I've also picked up a new method for the really unreasonable bird - scoop them up by the legs and hold them out till they calm down and completely relax. - then you can handle or send them on their way. They can't escalate this approach and have no choice but to submit once they realise they aren't going anywhere.

You really only need to do this once or twice to get the point across. I upended one of little roos in the brooder after he started trying to bump me and he did put up a bit if a fight that first time. Second time, he was being a bit too intense and he immediately submitted.without a fight.

Hasn't hurt our relationship. The little guy climbs all over me and wants to be a lap chicken. He also no longer chest bumps or charges me. It's all about communicating with them in a language they understand, though it can look a bit brutal from the outside.

 

[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.