Hens need a Time Out!!!

Date sort Score sort
PrairieChickens said:
When a hen pecks at you, you just take a finger and either tap them on top of the head or give them a quick-little poke. This is kind of an imitation of their pecking-order behavior, and they get the message pretty quick. "Don't peck me--I'm bigger than you and I won't put up with it." Most hens are pretty polite--their rules of etiquette are just a bit different from ours.

As for how to keep a chicken out of the garden... you don't. :p You can try fencing them out of it, but short of standing guard while they're ranging there's very little way to keep them from paying your peppers a visit or tearing up all of your mulch in search of bugs. One note on keeping chickens out of gardens--I've found that instead of trying to herd or chase them out of the garden, it is far more effective to toss a dirt clod up in the air so that it lands in their general vicinity. This causes a thump and a rustle that is usually enough to encourage the chickens to move out of the vegetable garden and into more open terrain where they can keep an eye out for predators. This encourages them out of your garden without them making a connection between you and something that caused them alarm.
Click to expand...

that is cool
 
My chickens stole all our cucumbers and tomatoes so I think w will be putting up a fence next year.
roll.png
 
PrairieChickens said:
When a hen pecks at you, you just take a finger and either tap them on top of the head or give them a quick-little poke. This is kind of an imitation of their pecking-order behavior, and they get the message pretty quick. "Don't peck me--I'm bigger than you and I won't put up with it." Most hens are pretty polite--their rules of etiquette are just a bit different from ours.

As for how to keep a chicken out of the garden... you don't. :p You can try fencing them out of it, but short of standing guard while they're ranging there's very little way to keep them from paying your peppers a visit or tearing up all of your mulch in search of bugs. One note on keeping chickens out of gardens--I've found that instead of trying to herd or chase them out of the garden, it is far more effective to toss a dirt clod up in the air so that it lands in their general vicinity. This causes a thump and a rustle that is usually enough to encourage the chickens to move out of the vegetable garden and into more open terrain where they can keep an eye out for predators. This encourages them out of your garden without them making a connection between you and something that caused them alarm.
Click to expand...
Also, last March of 2012, some neighborhood kids knew i had chickens, they found a chick "abandoned" in the middle of the road. They brought the chick to my house. I had recently had a hen die of the same color (back then, i didnt know very many chicken breeds), Buff. The hen that had just died about 2 days prior was a Buff Cochin Large Fowl (AND I MEAN LAAARGE!), after some research, i found out that this chick was a Buff Orpington, "I have some of those" I said. So, in memory of my Buff Cochin, I named this little "precious" Alice. We got little Alice 4 new chick friends (2 Americanas and 2 Black Sex Links). Now, a little over a year later, Alice is an adult hen. She isnt friendly and cute anymore! If I even try to pick up an egg, and she sees me doing so, she will peck my hand really hard! If I push her away to get some space, she will get mad and come back at me aggressively and defensively, without ANY mercy! How can I stop her???
 
jed2012 said:
Also, last March of 2012, some neighborhood kids knew i had chickens, they found a chick "abandoned" in the middle of the road. They brought the chick to my house. I had recently had a hen die of the same color (back then, i didnt know very many chicken breeds), Buff. The hen that had just died about 2 days prior was a Buff Cochin Large Fowl (AND I MEAN LAAARGE!), after some research, i found out that this chick was a Buff Orpington, "I have some of those" I said. So, in memory of my Buff Cochin, I named this little "precious" Alice. We got little Alice 4 new chick friends (2 Americanas and 2 Black Sex Links). Now, a little over a year later, Alice is an adult hen. She isnt friendly and cute anymore! If I even try to pick up an egg, and she sees me doing so, she will peck my hand really hard! If I push her away to get some space, she will get mad and come back at me aggressively and defensively, without ANY mercy! How can I stop her???
Click to expand...


I don't have a lot of experience with aggressive hens. Some of my hens will peck at me if I try to take eggs while they're still sitting, which is a normal maternal instinct, so I just let them sit until they decide they're done and collect the eggs then. Do you have a rooster in your flock? It may be that your little Alice feels like she has to take on the role of the protector of the flock, and that could explain her unusually aggressive behavior. As to how you would put a stop to it, I don't know. It's not something I've ever had to deal with.
 
Last edited:
PrairieChickens said:
I don't have a lot of experience with aggressive hens. Some of my hens will peck at me if I try to take eggs while they're still sitting, which is a normal maternal instinct, so I just let them sit until they decide they're done and collect the eggs then. Do you have a rooster in your flock? It may be that your little Alice feels like she has to take on the role of the protector of the flock, and that could explain her unusually aggressive behavior. As to how you would put a stop to it, I don't know. It's not something I've ever had to deal with.
Click to expand...
actually, yes, i do have a roooster. i have had her away from him her whole life. but its not just when shes laying eggs, its when i touch eggs. i now have her with the rooster, and she has calmed down a little. i just think she has taken a special liking to me, because, sometimes i will be walking around in the garden, i turn around, and she's right there staring at me, its a bit creepy, and a bit touching. she just has a cocky attitude i guess.
 
Yeah, it may have just been that because she wasn't around a rooster she felt like she had to adopt that role, and now that someone else has it handled she can relax a bit.

I have a couple of hens who follow me around the yard. One is so adamant about being in my company that if I get too far away she will actually take flight to catch up with me. If you think it's alarming to have a chicken stalking you on the ground, imagine one barralling down on you in the air! lol
 
Last edited:

Similar threads

A
Hen Attacking Another Hen's Chicks
Replies
2
Views
233
AshenVulture
A
Emrosenagel
Frantic hen, I’m at a loss
Replies
1
Views
173
SkyAJK
SkyAJK
crystalsc
    • Like
Odd egg laying behavior
Replies
5
Views
578
BigBlueHen53
BigBlueHen53
A
One hen who wanders really far without flock - new behavior.
Replies
4
Views
258
SamLockwood
SamLockwood
Rick589
    • Like
Amorous chicken?
Replies
3
Views
265
SandyRiverChick
SandyRiverChick

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom