[virgotiger]

I'm new to keeping chickens and have 3 at the moment, a buff orpington bantam, a silkie and a red hen possibly rhode island red but not sure, and its her who's causing trouble.
When i go out into the garden she'll come up and peck my leg, ok it doesnt hurt but its rather annoying, i thought it was just me she's taken a disliking to but now when my 7 yr old daughter goes outside she does it to her, now shes too scared to go out! anyone know why she might be doing this? or what i can do to stop her? not sure of her age but over a year old. Thanks

[kitkat]

Is she trying to be the gaffer? You could try a plant spray to shock her or pin her down on the floor for a few seconds. Needs nipping in the bud if she's doing it to your daughter, hope that helps

[IMOmimey]

I think she's probably asking for her "scratch"(so-called because you scatter it and they scratch about to eat it), when you scatter  them some corn/wheat or whatever. Mine expect theirs early evening when I get home from work, and they peck at my toes and hands if I go in empty handed. We do have a cockerel however, that does a full on attack(corn or not!) and I have to hold a big piece of wood in front of me when i go in, so he kicks that instead.  It is possible to get a nasty hen, but lets hope she's just demanding corn. Try hand-feeding the corn when you go in, and see if its just that?

[virgotiger]

well she'll do it even after i've just fed them..its everytime i go out be it to hang washing out or to collect eggs....i've sort of assumed she's top hen although she doesnt pick on the other 2. she's always the first to try anything..including coming into my house!

[IMOmimey]

Carry a water sprayer with you, and as soon as she starts to peck you, spray her with water

[happychickens]

Have you just tried always giving her some food when you go near her to distract her and maybe she will get out of the habit?

[SMD66]

i agree with kitkat, spray her or pin her down, show her who's boss or she'll just keep doing it

[snowflake]

orps and silkies are plascid hens but RIR are more excitable.
Its just her way of asking for food and attention.
Get your daughter to take out a cabbage leaf and let the hen eat it hand feeding is the key get your daughter to stroke the hen as she feeds it. when your daughter is more confident get her to pick the hen up. I have some RIR X's 12 weeks old  and they peck for attention and food so its natural I just give them attention and food then they are fine.

[virgotiger]

thanks for replies..i'm trying the "hold her down" my daughter is going back out as she does enjoy helping them find worms, she's just wearing extra clothes lol! (luckily summer seems to have gone!!)  didnt realise my hen would want to keep me in order too hehe.   

[broodyhen]

this is a funny thread 

i had a black orpington (we got rid of her in the end) who was down right nasty to my other chickens - a speck and a warren. the warren (who sadly died last weekend) was sooo tame it was unbelievable. she used to hear my voice and literally go beserk to come to me - she used to talk back (dont laugh!) to me and we could pick her up and the kids used to stroke her all the time and hand feed her. she even used to stroll upto the dog! i remember one day opening the back door where they came face to face and i just held my breath.....and it was fine 

i hope you get her sorted its a shame if your daughter is wary cos they are wonderful creatures!

broodyhen x

[virgotiger]

well hopefully i'll be able to put her in her place, as she does have a great personality and is a joy to watch..she's ok with the other 2 hens..just me and my daughter!

[hillfooter]

Hi Virgotiger,
I agree with the other posters who said your hen is just attention seeking.  You say she's over a year old so has obviously had a previous owner who probably fed her a handful of corn every time they appeared.  I wouldn't try to squirt her with water or try to traumatise her in any way.  Either you can just ignore her and she will probably grow out of it or just give her a small handful of corn and indulge her.
Re aggressive cocks - unfortunately once a cock develops this attacking habit it's close to imposible to cure him.  I've tried many things and never fully succeeded.  The most successful I've been is to be as passive as possible and never turn my back on them.  The best thing is to not encourage it developing in the first place.  I had a cock who was triggerd by a pair of boots I used to wear which had a large colourful "tongue" which used to flap as I didn't usually do the laces up and he did like these.  It was like a red rag to a bull.  Whatever you do don't try to beat him or square up to him that just makes them worse.  Once had a cock who was fine with me but as soon as my son in law entered the run he would fly at him.  I found my son in law would give him a kick which just served to reinforce his behaviour.  Another thing you should always do when a cock is running with hens is to offer the cock any titbits FIRST as otherwise he sees you as a rival trying to lure his hareem away.  If you offer him the food first he will drop it in front of the hens and bob his head up and down whilst making a loud clicking noise.  This is to encourage the hens to eat and reinforce his position as the provider.
By observing how your hens behave, particularly with a cock, will teach you a lot about their natural behaviour and is half the fun of keeping these interesting animals.
Best wishes

[archiesgems]

Hi Virgotiger

I agree with the other posts, apart from squirting water at hens, this really doesn't help, it is usually a domiance thing when this happens, do you have a cock bird? I take it that you don't or if you do he is not treading the hens!!!!!

so unfortunatly for you you will have to do it! sounds crazy but it works every time, catch the bird but instead of picking her up hold her down in between the wings and rub her back side to side quite firmly, as soon as she lifts her tail let her go, do this a few times and she will stop, its the same as pinning a dominant dog to the ground.

But please don't anybody go spraying your birds with water, this will just stress them out

Jay

[virgotiger]

i dont have a cock....and my hens did have a previous owner..who had loads of hens, she was downsizing...i've had them maybe 6 weeks now i keep them in their run in the morning until they've eaten their layers pellets or else they will leave them to go foraging in the garden and the hen i'm talking about started laying soft eggs after a couple of weeks this seems to have helped her get over that, other than that once they have had their layers pellets they have run of the garden. in the afternoon i chuck some corn over the grass for them and they also get vegetables just before i put them away for the night.....i'm now wondering that as she had lice and i had to treat her for it which she didnt like too much (my clumsy first couple of efforts!) she may see me as a threat or something......oh how i wish i could get in my hens head to see what she's thinking!!

thanks for replies!

[hillfooter]

That's a very good suggestion from Archiesgems it could be that she sees you as the cock.  I certainly have had hens who see me as their surrogate cock and usually if this is the case they will turn their back to you and squat with their wings held stiffly to out to the side and their tails raised.  This is the submissive mating position they adopt when they want the cock to mount them.  You can induce many hens to adopt this posture which makes them easy to pick up by pressing their back ends down.  You can do as Archiesgems suggests though if it is the reason she's seeking attention it probably won't stop her doing it though it might make her less persistant.

Regards