stupid question but..Do chickens try to protect their "people"?

[redhen]

I was just wondering because i could swear that was what my RIR pullet Penny was doing today...i had my 2 pot bellly pigs in the yard with a few of my hens..which we do all the time..with no problems before.... but one of the pigs is new to my house..the other a year old and been here since he was a piglet...so anyways..Penny(my hen) and i have this bond..(stop laughing!!...lol)...shes my spoiled favorite one of them all...well..today my pigs got in a fight..they are determining who is gonna be the top hog(after me...

)..i've been told its something that i have to let them do, so i wasnt intervening....... so they are going around in circles..biting each other..squealing..right by me..(i think i started the fight..by giving one a treat..and not the other.

..)....so anyways..((boy..i can really drag a boring story on!!..sorry.))...they were fighting right by me..and out of nowhere here comes Kung-Fu Chicken...neck feathers raised..wings spread....claws out..and she jumps right on the fighting pigs!..

...so then i had to jump in to get her out of there before she got bit!!...but she kept watching them by me all day...and when one got a bit to close to me..she charged him again!...so..to wrap this up..

..lol...do they actually protect their humans?..or was it something else?..heres a pic of my "karate kid" Penny....Wendy

 

[MagsC]

I dont think its a stupid question. And it sure sounds like she is protecting you!

 

[redhen]

thank you!...

..i am new to chickens..(only had them since april)..so..i wasnt sure what exactly she was doing.(defending her yard?..or what..)...but she sure is a toughie!..i had to tell her several times today to mind her own business!!....

.....she did not want them by me at ALL after that fight!...and alot of people on here have told me that pigs will kill and eat chickens.....in my circumstance its the opposite..LOL....my chicken is trying to attack my pigs!...and they actually ran away from her!....

.....thanks for the reply...Wendy

 

[silkiechicken]

My guess is you don't have a rooster and she's the "man" of the flock.

 

[Cetawin]

Oh I believe it..they are very funny when they bond with you and they do the strangest things. One of mine jumped on the dog's back because he took a treat out of the girls' treat dish. That'll learn that doggie.

 

[redhen]

..LOL..thanks Silkie....

... i do think i have a roo..but he's not very "manly"...

...*sigh*..hes just a little silkie/polish mix..and i never see him acting like a rooster...he crows a bit..but thats about all he does...so maybe your right..shes the "man" of the coop!..

..she does get special privileges from me...extra treats...extra yard time...so..will a "rooster" protect his people?..i guess i just thought they protected the other chickens....so..i guess i should be flattered that i'm considered one of the "hens"..?...

...LOL..Wendy

 

[redhen]

..LOL..cetawin...i guess i never knew thay were like that..how they will try to protect us like that...pretty neat....geez!!..i KNOW my 130# Saint Bernard wouldnt of got in between those 2 pigs today to save me!..

...LOL..go figure!...Wendy

 

[luvmychicknkids]

I really believe they will protect their people.

My rooster decided to start attacking me some time ago (he is gone now) and my little buddy Sophie finally got enough of it. When he would start to jump on me, she would attack him! I was pretty impressed. Whether she was really protecting me or not, I know I certainly FELT loved.

 

[redhen]

aww!..luvmychicknkids...i bet she was protecting you!...now i'll just be more heart broke if something happens her!!...thats the hard part of having animals...

...Wendy

 

[luvmychicknkids]

Quote:
Oh I know....it is terrifying to get so attached....but impossible not to. I think it enriches both ours and the animals lives, though, when we feel that connection.