Mean HENS!

[echo81577]

I have a particularly mean hen. Anytime I walk in the coop she chases me and pecks my boot or my arms if I am refilling feed etc. I raised her from a chick and this has only started within the last couple of months. Another one is following her lead and starting to be mean and peck me also. They are definitely fully grown hens, not roosters, just to be clear. So far when they do it I push them down to the ground and hold them for a bit which sometimes works but sometimes not. What do I do to change this behavior before I decide she becomes soup?.

 

[nuthatched]

Have you triedpecking them back?
If not, make a and peck them back on their head and back. Fast and hard.

 

[Nonafel]

Standard stuff, peck back on the head/back.
You can always press them gently to the ground from the back as a show of dominance.
If all that fails you hold them in place as above and gently push their head/beak to the ground and hold them there. If they stay when you let go, they've given in. May take more than a few minutes and more than a few times.

Try to avoid holding them upside down by the legs and of course don't punish (hitting, spraying, ect) they just don't understand it and might evoke fear instead.

If the issue is really bad, I've heard dog training tactics work well.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

the issue is really bad, I've heard dog training tactics work well.

Seriously? Like put them on a collar and leash, teach them Heel, Sit, Stay? Never heard of this one!

 

[McChooky]

When I hand fed my 1st batch of chicks it made them spoiled brats.I was finally able to break them from doing this by never hand feeding them again. I also carried a white plastic grocery bag in my pocket so everytime one of them chased or pecked me(demanding treats) I'd pull that bag out and shake it at them.The noise it made frightened them enough not to attack me anymore.Lesson learned.

 

[chooki]

I hand raised 10+ hens over the past decade, never ran into that problem, not sure it's because I constantly catch and pet my chickens regularly - most of them squad for me. Maybe constantly towering over them while giving them massages work.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I hand raised 10+ hens over the past decade, never ran into that problem, not sure it's because I constantly catch and pet my chickens regularly - most of them squad for me. Maybe constantly towering over them while giving them massages work.

And I don't handle mine at all unless necessary, and I've never had a mean one either!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

(15 years, in my case.)