momma hates me since hatching chick /any suggestions

[chickie momma di]

Hi everyone,
I'm having a problem with my hen. Before she went broody and hatched an egg our Gracie was the sweetest little pullett.

She is a great momma. However....she is now so grumpy to the point she is attacking anyone who dares even enters the run to feed and water or just hang out.

She seems just plain evil right now. I want my sweetheart back. Mr Chubbs is still sweet and more gentle than ever but still protective of his girls but not against us, but Gracie. ..... I know she's doin the protective momma thing so I've been trying to just leave her be but she is now going out of her way to go after us.

Will she snap out of it? Should I start attitude adjustment class? She even seems to be teaching Hopie (the baby) to fear us. She makes her noises and Hopie goes runnin in to their house? I've gotta find a way to get my sweetie back. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[greathorse]

She is a prey animal and that instinct is deeply imbedded. It is in her DNA to teach her young to fear all predators. You are a predator by defintion. Watch chicks in a brooder. They freak out if you open it, but eventually, they learn that we are not going to kill them. I think you should honor her instinct and trust that when she no longer has her chick to protect she will be back to her old self.

I would by in large leave her alone and let her do what comes natural for her.

 

[chickie momma di]

Thanks for responding. I knew it was her instincts taking over cause her current behavior is so out of the ordinary for her. The problem is that she is/was getting worse. To the point she agressively attacked me yesterday and wouldn't even back down when pushed (gently) away she kept comming at me. So....... I had to grab her and again gently turned her upsidedown for a minute until she got a hold of herself. This seems to have helped and she hasn't attacked either dh or myself since.
We are trying to give her her space but we can't have her hurting us to the point that she drawing blood. We love her dearly and are willing to wait it out until she gets back to her old self. I wonder how long that will take.
In the mean time any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Happy Chicken Watching everyone!!

 

[dancingbear]

My DH's pet chicken Rita, the only really friendly one we have, (out of 32) went psycho chicken when she got broody. She stayed that way until she figured her babies were big enough to be on their own. Then she went back to normal. It's hormonal and instinctual behavior.

Just keep your hands clear of her and the chicks, everything should be fine. Don't try to pick them up or pet them. They'll both get over it.

 

[EllyMae]

If it makes you feel any better, I just got flogged "rooster style" by my sweet cochin, yes cochin, when I tried to touch her duck babies that she hatched. Of course, I think she is a little on edge because she can't figure out why those babies of hers are playing in water, LOL.

 

[greathorse]

Any suggestions would be appreciated


Kevlar?????

 

[hoosiergal40]

Two years ago I let some of my girls hatch their own chicks.
My hens are all very tame and they stayed that way even when they had little ones to protect. But one barred rock hen named Fergie went ballistic on all the other chickens. She especially hated the other orpington mom who had more chicks than her. Everytime she heard the orpington's chicks peep she would attack them. She killed 2 of the chicks before I removed the orpington and chicks to our yard. There they remained until they were 2 weeks old. In those 2 weeks the orpington hen named Cassie learned how to be a proper mother. She gained enough confidence to stand up to Fergie when I placed her and her brood back with the rest of the flock. They gave each other distance without fighting.

 

[cybercat]

Remove the chic and put it in a brooder. The hen should calm down when there is nothing to protect. If you do not do this you will have that chick frighten of you always and the hen might not ever come out of being protective since chcik is always with her.

 

[chickie momma di]

Hi everyone,
Kevlar sounds like the safest bet to me...

Seirously though, since our upsidedown moment Gracie has seemed to snap out of it a bit. Still not her cuddley self but out of attack chicken mode (at least for now).
We are going to begin our own version of family training since we seem to have had some success yesterday. We do want to be able to handel Hopie and hope that by holding her every day and associating that with treats will accomplish that goal. Yes at just 2 weeks old she is already very food motivated. Now if i could just mimmick the sound Chubbs and Gracie make to call her over for food I know we could get good results. I'll let you know if it works or not.
Taking Hopie away to a brooder would be a last resort. We are realy trying to keep the family together and if at all possible thats what we're gonna do.
Is it possible for EllyMae to post pics of the duckies w/momma hen. That must be the funniest thing to see.
Thanks for your time everyone.
It's so great to hear about so many different points of views on any subject. For us it helps us to decide which way will be best for out situation.

 

[sandypaws]

sounds like she is being a GOOD MAMA....


if you are really that shook up,,,,dont let her hatch again..