Mean hens attacking me

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lilchickenz

lilchickenz

Songster
11 Years
Jul 21, 2013
113
46
191
NWL Michigan
What is it with these hens? I have a small flock of 5 hens living in 11sq meter coop and run, so they have plenty of space (but they do this even when they are out in my yard). 2 of the hens have been attacking me every time I go out there. They are a bit over 5 months old and I've had them since they were hatched with a broody hen. I was out in the yard working on things all summer so they are all used to me being around. They focus heavily on my feet. They puff up like they are angry and peck my shoes, they will run toward me and do this even if I'm not near them! If I stand still they stay in that bent down position staring at the shoe then if I move it even slightly they attack. It doesn't matter what shoes I wear...boots, shoes whatever, they hate my feet. They don't like my hands much either even though I have hand fed them treats and seeds that they like. I've never seen hens act like this! I've never kicked them or otherwise been mean to them, although I have had to grab them a few times when trying to get them in before a storm or a hawk circling. Is it just the breed or something else? They are Rhode Island Reds and are the meanest hens I've ever seen lol.
 
It’s sounds a lot like they are roosters. I had a Rhode Island red and he acted the exact same way! The only difference is that I knew he was a rooster before he started getting aggressive because he was crowing. But the way they are acting sounds exactly like him! He would puff up and follow my legs the same way! He never was aggressive to my hands because I handled him very frequently from his first week of being a chick. Anyway, I think it might be a bit harder to tell the sex of RIRs, because the males don’t get in their pointy feathers as quickly. But some big giveaways for mine was that he had noticeably thicker legs than the pullets, and that you could see some slight iridescent green in his tail. Besides that, he really looked like a hen.
 
Pictures would help us to just make sure they are hens.
I would try an experiment just because I LOVE animal mental games: instead of grabbing them to get them in before the storm comes or because of the hawk, try sprinkling some treats where you want them to come in and calling them like you normally do. Then see if their behavior changes because of this new tactic.
Another thought: what color are all your footwear, the same color?
 
Jean Highwood said:
Some are late bloomers. Some hens turn out to be rooster and some roos trn out to be hens. Seems every time. Some are obvious. A few not.
Click to expand...

They hatched on August 10th, how long could it take to tell? Seems odd that out of 6 eggs there would be 5 roos and 1 hen. It's usually 50/50, and as far as I can tell it was 3 roos and 3 hens. I'm going to get photos, just cant get out there until later.
 
I had a red sex link that started puffing up and trying to peck at me when she was about 20 weeks old. She even had the "oh, no you don't" head bob thing. I was trying to fill their water one day when she started acting all tough. I dumped the whole bucket on her. Never had another problem. She likes to jump on top the nest boxes when I'm in the coop so she can look me in the eye, but she doesnt try any funny business anymore.
 

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