Hen pecking at my son

[lundr]

Hey there!
I have six hens, all almost 6 months old, and no rooster. The RIR has been a feisty, dominant hen since the day I brought them home, but she is not the one giving me trouble. I've been outside a ton lately doing yard work, and always have my 21 month old son running around with me. One of the barred rocks started pecking at him a few weeks ago, and I just figured it was because he is the one that usually brings 'treats' to them. In the past few days she has gotten very aggressive, chasing him faster than he can run and trying to peck him harder. He just freezes up and starts crying, and I chase her off.
I live in central Minnesota, so it's been chilly a while already, and so the hens have not begun laying. So it seems perhaps she is broody, but why only the aggression towards the toddler, and not me? And how might I deal with this since it's not me she has a problem with? The little guy cans hold her and walk around petting her like I've seen suggested.

 

[HEChicken]

This isn't broody behavior at all. I can't guess at what is on her mind so my best suggestion would be to pen her up when your son is out.

 

[silkiechick1994]

That's super strange. I've got this one bantam hen that is so dominant that she outranks all the roosters I have and runs around chasing them and my labs around the yard. She's no smaller than a popcorn bag yet runs my flock like she's in charge. Maybe your hen is just very dominant and territorial. Maybe have your little one spend some supervised time with the hen and see if that helps any?

 

[petrel]

My chickens are certain to peck (or at least inspect) every mole, birthmark, scab or hole in clothing they can find on all six of us. Once they are satisfied, they abandon the inspection. I think silkiechick is right. Perhaps a little more quality time between your problem bird and your little one is in order. If that does not do the trick, I think that may be a good trait to cull.