Why is my chicken attacking me?

[hayley3]

She is acting like a rooster...what can I do to change her behavior. I do not want to cull her. Right now she is being punished..I put her alone in a dog cage but I'm sure she will not learn a thing from that. LOL She flies at my legs and bites me, her beak hanging onto my pants leg. it doesn't hurt, but is intimidating to worry about everytime I go in there she's going to come flying at me.

Just wondering if there is a chicken psychologist on the forum that can advise me.
In all my years of having chickens, I have never had a mean chicken. She is a Welsummer and her sister is a great chicken. My buffs will peck me but they do not come flying and hanging onto my leg like a mean dog.

I honestly think a lot of this came from having that horrible rooster. Maybe they have PTSD from that!

 

[azygous]

I know it's asking a lot, but is it possible for you to make a video of this hen in action?

Chickens communicate in ways that we humans often misinterpret. Using the beak to communicate to each other and to us is their most common means. Your hen may be trying to tell you to pay attention to her or it could mean she doesn't trust you or it could merely mean she hates your taste in clothing. One of our main contributors on BYC reported having a hen go nuts and attacking her because she had the audacity to show up in the run one day in hair curlers. Others have reported a chicken going nuts and attacking their sneakers.

Any display of inappropriate aggression from a chicken, rooster or hen or chick, can be addressed with a little discipline. Note that I said discipline. Chickens do not respond to punishment. Actually, no animal will respond to punishment in any constructive way.

The way to discipline a chicken is to do what other chickens do to discipline an unruly member - a peck on the back. If the chicken continues the behavior after a peck on the back with your finger, you can immobilize the chicken by pushing them to the ground and holding them there until they stop struggling and become placid. These methods are fully understood by a chicken and can achieve positive results if applied consistently.

Time outs are not constructive as forms of discipline, not being in a chicken's "vocabulary".

 

[Acre4Me]

I’d say evaluate what has changed.

1. No rooster...is she now the dominant one? Maybe she’s Trying to establish pecking order with you?

2. Any change in your appearance or clothing or shoes? Seriously they are tuned into this. I had winter boots with laces...drove the birds (particularly the rooster) crazy and he’d attack the laces. Also, any new sounds that your clothing or tools make? My chickens freak out with certain “normal” sounds.

3. Any other recent events (close call with a predator, new chickens, chickens now gone)?

 

[hayley3]

I know it's asking a lot, but is it possible for you to make a video of this hen in action?

I have tried pushing her down and so far it's not working...but she attacks my daughter so will have to show my daughter what to do.
She does not consistently attack me, but maybe the pushing her down contributes to her laying low for a while.

I’d say evaluate what has changed.

1. No rooster...is she now the dominant one? Maybe she’s Trying to establish pecking order with you?

2. Any change in your appearance or clothing or shoes? Seriously they are tuned into this. I had winter boots with laces...drove the birds (particularly the rooster) crazy and he’d attack the laces. Also, any new sounds that your clothing or tools make? My chickens freak out with certain “normal” sounds.

3. Any other recent events (close call with a predator, new chickens, chickens now gone)?

Nothing has changed really and the rooster has been gone for about 12 months.
I believe she has crowed before but was right after the rooster disappeared.

 

[Acre4Me]

Well, she’s acting like a bully, and one way bullies are dealt with is to separate them from the flock for a few days. This may reset the pecking order and calm her down. She should not be in sight of the flock during her isolation.

 

[hayley3]

Well, she’s acting like a bully, and one way bullies are dealt with is to separate them from the flock for a few days. This may reset the pecking order and calm her down. She should not be in sight of the flock during her isolation.

Now I am wondering if she is the one that hurt my buff who had a bleeding comb, just a few days ago.
Sounds like a good plan... to separate her.