my 6 year old son was feeding mealworms to my 2 hens...:(

[wahmommy]

and one of them pecked him just under his eye, so close it could have been his eye. I think his eye is fine-this time- but what do I do to keep this from ever happening again? Just not have them out freeranging when the kids are playing? Or not have the kids give them treats? I've noticed that the hens go after my wedding ring even when I'm not feeding them, so i just really don't know what to do - I also have a 3 year old daughter.

My son knows not to get down with his eyes beak level (a person at a feed store mentioned that we need to be careful about eyes and beaks), but he forgot and got down on his hands and knees and tried to give one of the hens a meal worm, that's when the other one came up and got him under the eye.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Can you get him a pair of goggles for those times? Or at least some sunglasses? Anything like that?

 

[easttxchick]

Aw, poor little guy.
Sunglasses or goggles are a good idea. Your hen just saw his shiny eye and couldn't resist pecking at it, she really wasn't trying to hurt him.
I'm glad she didn't get him in the eye.

 

[wahmommy]

He actually kept saying I'm fine, I want to feed them the last mealworm- I'm the one that freaked out

 

[claud]

Awww. They do peck at anything shiny.
I vote for some safety glasses(maybe you could find some cool ones).
Your son just may be a bit more cautious now that that happened - it may be all you need. I wouldn't let them around the 3 yr old though - they are too close to eye level and don't see the danger.

My 4 yr old loves to feed mine but I always stand beside him while he's feeding. My hens are in a fence all the time so playing around them isn't an issue.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
Chickens don't know anything about kids, wedding rings, or the things we care about. They just do what they do. They are motivated to act, simple as that.
Most of the time that results in pecking.
When I grew up on the farm, it was standard to keep the small children out of the yards. When I reached five or six, I was allowed to wrangle the chickens, but not before.
Think hens pecking are bad? Imagine if a rowdy, 12 lb. cock decided to flog him....

I'm not trying to be harsh here, just keeping it real. Small children are better kept away from numbers of adult chickens
Personally, I think you've answered your own questions quite well.

 

[M To The Maxx]

I also think that the glasses are a good idea. Preferably spiderman or batman for your boy.

Maybe a pair for me to?

 

[Old Fart]

I hate to say this but, if you just use some common sense, and remember kids will be kids, things should be fine. There's lots worse things that can happen.

 

[PamB]

The glasses are ABSOLUTELY a good idea! We have a chicken that is SO friendly and sits on our shoulders. She got me in the eye a few months ago. I had a HUGE scratch on my cornea and it was EXTREMELY painful! It took a long time to heal. Luckily it was a few millimeters under my sightline, so I didn't lose vision. However, I still have pain in that eye sometimes and have to put drops in 4 times a day. Be careful. I can't imagine a child having to go through that pain I felt. My daughter is 11 and I'm constantly telling her to not let the chickens anywhere near her face.

 

[AnaD]

Hey, someone took this very seriously....
Chicken goggles.

http://www.colitz.com/site/730918/730918.htm