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My broody hen attacked me!!!!

17 years ago

I went out to feed my girls yesterday. We just this week moved three older hens into the new run with the other 22 plus Roo. It was a night time move, kinda snuck them in. They are getting along fine except for the broody hen. She is running around freaking out. Very defensive of all her new found treasures(piles of eggs). Yesterday she chased me down and then flew at me flapping like a maniac. The run fence is 5ft high with deer netting and shade cloth on top. She actuall flew up and grabbed the fence with her feet and flapped at me for a minute. Ok I get this is normal and that shes probably stressed over the move. Butt,,, when will it stop? Should I move her to the old run all alone, perhaps with some fertile eggs?

I had to lock her in the house while I filled the food, then lock her out while I gathered the eggs. She scares me. This is my first time with a broody hen, any and all advice is welcome.

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Comment (1)

velvet_sparrow
17 years ago
*L* Wow, what a great mom she'd make! Nothing would ever mess with HER...

You need to decide if you are going to allow her to hatch eggs or if you need to break the broody cycle (or try, anyway). If you are diligent about collecting eggs several times a day so that she has nothing to sit on and toss her unceremoniously off the nest at the same time, some broodies snap out of it within days--others take weeks, some are hard-core habitual broods and ALWAYS seem to be broody. I have hens that cover the whole range. None of them chase me, though. :) After I have shooed them from a nest and closed them up in the coop for the night, I HAVE had unhappy broodies climb the coop wire and hang by their toes while they scold me, though, so I know what that is like!

What you can try is to reassert yourself as above her in the pecking order. Absolutely DO NOT allow her to peck or chase you. When she does this, use the 'rooster taming' method described here:

http://shilala.homestead.com/roosters.html

Mostly just scoop her up and pet and carry her for a while. This also helps disrupt her broodiness. If she dares to chase you, chase her right back, with a little extra thrown in for good measure, while scolding her. This also shows the REST of the flock who is boss. You can also read the page on my chicken info site of broodies:

http://home.earthlink.net/~velvetsparrow/VSChickHensBroodiesChicks.htm

Above all, don't show her you are scared of her, it only proves to her that she can chase and peck you anytime she wants, and she'll then make the natural conclusion that if she can treat you this way, she can treat any other human this way, too. Dangerous if you have kids. Better to nip it in the bud. :)

Good luck!

Velvet ~:>
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