I was out with my girls cleaning and getting them fresh water when all of the sudden one of my girls lunged at my hand a pecked me so hard she drew blood. I was very angry grabbed her by the neck and almost wrung it! I told her eye to eye if you ever peck me like that again you will be fried! Then I released her. When she hit the ground she squatted so I think she understood what I was saying! If I ever get chickens again I think I will do more research on less aggressive breed. I don't understand why she did that. I guess that is what separates them from being pets, most pets don't bite the hand that feeds them.
I'm with you, they're not pets. Sounds like she figured out who is running the show. You'll have to let us know if the lesson sticks!
Mine do that on occasion and I believe it's from me hand feeding them. When I come into their run, they assume I have food. So, I've stopped giving them food from my hands and they are doing better. I didn't think it was a form of agression on their part.
My chickens "bite" me all the time. Today in fact, one hen thought my glittery fingernails were possibly? a treat--let's bite and find out. LOL! I also have this one little red hen that always bites and digs with her beak on my clothing, I think she is thinking "any treats here?"
my girls are golden sex links, comets or whatever. I have never hand fed the one that bit me. They usually go after my bling but this was farther up almost my wrist. Oh I don't think she will do that again for awhile. Like I said she squatted as soon as she hit the ground.
I try to handle all my birds(20) at least once a week for just a general inspection of well being. This one RSL who is usually really passive creature turned and bit me when I put her down,squared off to me and puffed out her feathers and tried to bite me again. Not sure why. She broke the skin but didn't draw blood but boy did I want to ring her neck. So i picked her up again and then set her down with my hand on her back and then let her up with a little love tap to her butt with my boot to let her know who the BOSS is.
