Please help, once lovely pullet being aggressi

[Lazygaze]

Hello all.
What was once my friendliest and sweetest pullet has become aggressive, with me only. I have 2 chickens (I know minimum 3 is optimal but I recently lost one, and anyway this was happening before my third died). Of the two she is is the less dominant, bottom of the pecking order. She will attack my wrist - I actuallly posted about this a while back when she first started, wondering if my FitBit was making noises she could hear and I couldn’t, because it started with her going for that, but now she seems to have taken a dislike just to my wrist, and today she drew blood. I pinned her down to the floor with both hands, gently but so she couldn’t get out of it, for probably 20/30 seconds, she didn’t like it and stopped after that, then half an hour later when I went to take them some treats () she went to do it again but I saw her stop and think and then decide against it.
Can anyone give me an idea of why she might be doing this? Some days she even does the aggressive running jump thing. I wonder if she is trying to find her place in a pecking order she thinks I am part of- though she acts SO submissively with the top chicken. What is the best way of dealing with a pullet who does this? I’ve read that ‘pecking’ them back with thumb and fore finger works but I’ve stopped doing this as my fingers are obviously fatter than a beak and I just felt like I was hitting her I don’t have long fingernails. I don’t like pinning her either but that has more success. If I remember to take my watch off when I go into her space that helps a bit, but now she does just go for my wrist regardless, and I don’t want to take my watch off every day because I’ll eventually lose it!
Advice really gratefully received!

 

[sourland]

Sounds as if she is showing you your place in the pecking order. Sounds as if pinning her into submission is the best course of action.

 

[aart]

Peck her back!

Have had this happen several times, mostly with hand fed chicks often as they come of age and get spunky. It's pretty easily curbed with calm and deliberate determination.

I peck them back, on the head or anywhere I can reach, with the tips of thumb and first 2 fingers, as hard and fast as many times as I can before they get away. Well, not hard enough to hurt them, just startle them and let them you mean business. That's what another chicken would do, so they understand that kind of communication.

If that doesn't work after a couple applications, I hold them down to the ground with my hand on their back until they submit....again firmly enough to get the job done but not hurt them....add a few finger pecks and/or tug on the feathers on the back of their neck.

 

[Cazook]

Picking her up and carrying her around in your arms might help, it's sometimes useful for dissuading a cockerel that is having some ideas about trying to dominate a human.

 

[aart]

Can anyone just let me know if you’ve had any success with anything other than pecking and holding down? I’ll try the feather tugging next time too.

You have to think, and behave, like a chicken.
When they are showing dominance to a subordinate, they peck them.
If the sub does not back off they chase a bit and peck some more.
If they really want to show who's boss, they chase down, grab, and peck more seriously(beat the hell out of them).

 

[Lazygaze]

Well, it helps when one dies.
The more birds in a flock, the more spread out the pecking order is.
..and maybe the less the human keepers are bought into the pecking order.

I’m sure you’re right about that. They think I’m a giant chicken don’t they

 

[LaFleche]

What colour and shape is your watch? Any bling on it?

 

[aart]

What is a fitbit? You must excuse me, I'm old and a stranger and as such not familiar with these kind of things.

fitbit

 

[aart]

looking back in my posts I actually posted about this same issue in April!! That shows you how long this has been going on for

Which means it my take longer to 'cure' her.
Stop hand feeding for a few weeks....don't give her the opportunity to peck your person.
Might even have to give her some time outs in a crate.

 

[Lazygaze]

Sounds as if she is showing you your place in the pecking order. Sounds as if pinning her into submission is the best course of action.

It does seem to work, I might get a day off being pecked the next day but then the day after that she just starts on me again! Should I do ‘maintenance pinning’ even when she has a day when she leaves me be?!