Okay here's the deal. I'm tired of getting pecked, my daughter now won't even go in the chicken run with me because of it. There is one chicken and I think she's the one who is laying right now that attacks us every time we go in. She broke skin on me today on my leg and I'm sorry to say my reaction was to kick her away before I thought about it. She doesn't appear to be hurt but I'm so sick and tired of being attacked. Is there anything I can do other than make chicken stew? I'll do it just to get back to a peaceable time with my flock but it's a shame since I think she's the only one of seven laying right now. They are all pretty young though. They are all around 4-5 months old.
Also a side note almost all my girls peck a little at me and I don't mind that, this is just down right vicious. She'll follow me around the run and coop to keep attacking me even. Worst part of all is that she used to be one of our sweetest girls. My daughter named her "buddy" and always used to be able to pet her. She's a black sexlink which I know are not the most docile but we have another that isn't this way at all. Our barred rocks are probably our next most frequent peckers, and the wyandotts never peck us.
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Sherri and Katherine have the right idea. You need to be the benevolent dictator of the coop. Just like with dogs, dominance and power aren't about an animal being mean, its just part of the normal social structure. You have to be the dominant one. I suggest that you follow Sherri's method of holding the pecking hen and require she be calm before she is released. Covering their eyes is like magic and will make the handling easier.
You have trained and handle 2 180lb rotweillers. You've got this.
180 is a weeeee bit of an exaggeration. LOL Their combined weight is 190, but still... one is also not even a year and he's 89 pounds, and our older girl is 101 lbs. I just didn't think I needed to train my chickens to not attack me. Go figure. I've held them since they were chicks, handed out treats and all sorts of things and they start laying and attack... Humph! The nerve of them. LOL Oh well I'll just have to teach them I'm in charge. Maybe walk in the run with a drumstick and start making demands? Nah... I'll stick to the handling method for now...
LOL! Since chickens eat meat and aren't picky about the source, they may attack you and carnivorously steal the drumstick! :)
Just as you have to be the Alpha in your 190 lb dog pack, you have to be head rooster in your flock. If you know what motivates them, you have a step up on the process. Food, water, protecting their young (when they're not pecking holes in their eggs), and fear are strong motivators for chickens. Love, affection, and goodwill toward henkind are not.
We've used the fear motivator to train them to stay out of the backyard where the dogs are, and off the front patio where we hang out a lot. We have a plastic bottle 1/2 filled with gravel, and we throw it near them when they trespass. Newer chickens have picked up on the rules from the older ones with very little training from us. So you might try that trick when you enter the coop. When any of the hens peck, shake the bottle or drop it right next to her. Ya' never know...
good idea. thank you, because holding my mean chicken isn't working. She's been handled so much I pick her up and she's calm immediately but as soon as I set her down she's back to attacking.
Let us know how it works. :)
Do you have a rooster?
She may be assuming the lead role, and taking a step further and believes she is protecting the flock. She "sounds" like a rooster.
Wish I had an answer for you.
I also handle mine and hold them to show them that I am peaceful and in charge.
When I walk in I dont sweet talk the mean birds....if them come at me, then I turn and face them...if they get aggressive with me, I will sometimes, poke my index finger towards them as if I am going to peck them back, but only from a higher angle since I am larger than them. (My SIlver Wyandottes are my most aggressive). My other birds just do the curious peck, like, "Whats this?", but my wyandottes come at me and my other birds.
Im new to chickens, but this has seemed to help. I also just picked up another coop to seperate the mean ones so I can enjoy my sweet girls.
Good luck.
Not a bad idea. I used to be able to just turn and stare at her and she'd back off but that isn't the case anymore. I do think she's trying to protect her eggs but it's a new issue for me. I had a broody hen do that once but once she stopped being broody it stopped, and she only got mean when we moved her off her nest to get at an egg.
She probably became more aggressive because of her desire to protect her nest. I'd separate her out for a while, if for no other reason than to give your daughter confidence again. Give her her own food, water & nest.
I hold mine regularly to instill in them that I'm the boss chicken. I do this particularly with any who peck, because that's not an acceptable behavior. I don't let them get away by struggling, either, and I won't let them down if they're struggling. They have to be peaceful, then they get their freedom.
If they peck, I pick them up (that can be a challenge sometimes), then if they argue I put my hand over their head (actually, I hold their heads against me with my hand, totally blocking their vision). Without vision, they calm down. Any time they get argumentative I cover their head again. I've only had one who continued to have a pecking problem. She pecked at any dots on my legs...and those tempting varicose vein worms. Grrrr... She didn't do it to be mean, but she was still a challenge.
Since you have a handful that are pecking, I'd start working with them a lot. It hasn't taken much for me to get authority over my hens, but I had to be very consistent for a time. For your mean chicken, be even more persistent. If she doesn't show some improvement after a week, hopefully someone else's idea will work instead. The pot is always a possibility, but maybe she'll respond positively without too much effort.
I will definitely try handling her more. Because she started getting mean I've been avoiding her but if I think about it like training dogs, I've been treating her like she's the alpha and letting her chase me off instead of hanging out as long as I used to in the run. Because she's been being so mean I've taken to just going in, getting the egg, checking food and water and maybe giving a pet or two to my favorites then getting out. I'll start hanging out in there more again. I actually miss it, especially hanging out in there with my daughter. I'll try holding the mean one and trying to talk my daughter in since I have the trouble maker in my arms. If all else fails I can try separating her but I'd rather not, especially since she isn't causing trouble with the other hens just people. Any human that enters gets attacked.
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