She bit me

[Rosey516]

Hi everyone, I am so insulted my girls are 20 weeks and very friendly but today as I was walking in the yard the came running as usual but I accident walked into my Rhode Island Red she fluffed up and bit my hand .. so I just bent down to pet her and she fluffed again and bit me again.. I just kept talking and petting her and she calmed down .. is this normal behavior geez I hardly touched her.. I feel so bad now that she doesn't trust me..

 

[Dmontgomery]

You maybe just scared her. She will be fine tomorrow. Think how you would feel if something 10 times larger than you ran in to you. Scary huh? I have a drama queen dog like that. Screams if she thinks you are going to accidentally step on her.

 

[Howard E]

Not to worry. RIR's are your gal pals. Cut up an apple tomorrow and hold bits of it out in your and and see if she doesn't come around. Hold it steady and don't flinch.

 

[Rosey516]

Thanks...

 

[Hokum Coco]

I accident walked into my Rhode Island Red she fluffed up and bit my hand .. so I just bent down to pet her and she fluffed again and bit me again.
Most likely the "queen" of the flock imposing her dominance.

I had one of my hens while on the roost one morning clamp on to the out side and inside of one nostril and hold it for what seemed like an eternity.
Let me know what YOU think of it if it ever happens to you.

 

[JackHammer]

The other day my Easter egger bit me in the eye! I think she thought my eyelashes were food. No permanent damage just sore for a few days. I won't let that happen again!
I'm sure you hen will be treating you just fine tomorrow.

 

[Rosey516]

Omg!! That's crazy lol I just thought they were so docile lol anyway I feel a lot better.. I did go in this morning with an apple but she was still a little mad she was pecking me hard so I put the apple in front of her instead and she liked it much better !! All is good.. thank you all once again.....

 

[Isaac 0]

Mine are extremely docile but when my heads comes close to there's they peck in my ears and in my hair,There just trying to find food

 

[Howard E]

I will throw out another theory and if I"m wrong, don't hesitate to correct me but is it possible the bird in question is attempting to assert herself in the pecking order and that includes establishing dominance over you? We know roosters will do that, but what about bossy hens?

Something to consider and be aware of.

 

[donrae]

I'm going to be more blunt than Howard.

Your hen is bossing you around, and doing a great job of it. You're letting her call the shots and be the boss of you.

It's not that she doesn't trust you.She's not mad at you. It's that she now knows she can tell you what to do, and you'll do it.




Don't let her peck you anymore. For a while, that may mean not letting her get close enough to touch you. You're the human, you decide when she comes close to you and when she does not. For now, she does not. Shoo her away, chase her off, whatever you need to do. You're not going to scare her or make her afraid of you. You will make her respect you, and that's a good thing. Don't hand feed her for a while. After a few days of not letting her close to you or giving her treats, pick her up. If she pecks at you, flick or thump her with your finger. That's not allowed, ever. When she's settled down, you decide when to put her down. She does not decide, you decide. Pick her up when you want, put her down when you want. Eventually, after a few weeks, you can try hand feeding her treats again. If ever she pecks you, flick or thump her, and don't mess around with it. Do it seriously enough she doesn't want to be around you. It's exactly what she would do to another chicken.

Lots of folks want to treat chickens as pets, but their brains are more livestock than pets. They just don't think the same as say dogs do.

Again, she will NOT be afraid of you, but she will respect you.