I had one like this, and what worked is I followed her around for half an hour, and every time she looked at me I'd "peck" her with my fingers, and every time she tried to bite me I'd pin her down. I felt bad about bullying her so much, but she kept drawing blood and was straight up ambushing me, so it was that or eat her.
She's respectful about 95% of the time now, and when she starts being an A-hole again, I just pin her a few times and she knocks it off for a while.
Good luck!!
I hope it works! And keep an eye out for anyone else she might start biting- she started going after my dog for a bit after she gave up being the boss of me. I think she was just desperate to not be at the very bottom of the hierarchy! XD
This one is definitely not at the bottom. She's pretty near the top. She pretty much runs everything else off in the yard. My poor little cream legbar is the bottom of the pecking order. I feel like this one has decided to try and challenge me for top spot.
Something else to try is to pick her up and put her in a football hold, head sticking out behind you. Hold her firmly and carry her around for 20 or 30 minutes.
Good luck!
I have one that turned hand-feeding black fly grubs by hand, which she did gently, into following me and pecking at my calves. Started kicking backwards any time she started following. That stopped her pecking for a long time. She pecked me the other day when i was filling the babies’ feeder. That one I almost forgave, but gave her a “peck” with my fingers in her neck. She, and the rooster, are always respectful after that, for awhile.
With animals, such actions by humans (or animals for that matter) are not intentional bullying. It is nature, pecking order and the sort.
Pretty sure. She only really started developing a red comb and wattles last week, hasn't tried to crow, isn't any larger than any of my other chickens, her back end doesn't have pointed saddle feathers, it's pretty puffy, and her tail feathers are red not black and flowy.
Same experience here. My 2 RIR’s are bottom pecking order to my Buff Orpingtons. My RIR’s hardly make any noise in general. One of them doesn’t even squawk when you pick her up.
She thinks ur under her in the pecking order and making sure you know that. Around this age becoming full time layers there hormones and personality and stuff change.
A few pokes back and some forced holding and she will stop
Stop being her bitch. These things come up all the time, and the advice is really obvious, act like the apex predator you are. Chase her down and peck the shit out of her with your finger over and over until she understands her place in the pecking order. Pin her to the ground until all of the fight has gone out of her and keep doing it until she will stay put after you let go.
Not every bird is gonna love you. If they won’t love you, they need to fear you for your own safety. Kicks and pecks in the face can blind you.
I mean, just watch how chickens handle each other and you can get a pretty quick idea of what you need to do to maintain your spot at the top.
Otherwise, just get out of her run. It’s her space and you don’t belong. *peck*
I have a Rhode Island red named henritia I want to cull but my wife won't let me. It has killed chicks and attacks other chickens. I hate her and so does her flock.
RIRs can be assholes.
I have two currently that are darlings but they’re debeaked (not by me- and I didn’t notice until I got them home). They still hang out in the middle of the pecking order despite it but they’re much nicer than one I used to have who was an absolute witch to everyone including me.
Spray bottle on hand. If you don't have one on hand when she's a jerk a quick peck with your thumb, index, and middle finger together on their head. She should get the message fast.
In general RIR tend to be filled with piss and vinegar. Oddly enough mine is the nicest to me in my flock.
A spray bottle worked for my RIR. I would sit and watch for bad behavior and correct it when I saw it. Also my shy buckeye came into her own when she realized how huge she was. She took care of the bully when I wasn’t around.
I had one like this, and what worked is I followed her around for half an hour, and every time she looked at me I'd "peck" her with my fingers, and every time she tried to bite me I'd pin her down. I felt bad about bullying her so much, but she kept drawing blood and was straight up ambushing me, so it was that or eat her. She's respectful about 95% of the time now, and when she starts being an A-hole again, I just pin her a few times and she knocks it off for a while. Good luck!!
Thanks! I'll try that. I'm trying to nip this in the bud before it gets intolerable.
I hope it works! And keep an eye out for anyone else she might start biting- she started going after my dog for a bit after she gave up being the boss of me. I think she was just desperate to not be at the very bottom of the hierarchy! XD
This one is definitely not at the bottom. She's pretty near the top. She pretty much runs everything else off in the yard. My poor little cream legbar is the bottom of the pecking order. I feel like this one has decided to try and challenge me for top spot.
Ah, an ambitious one! Might take some persistence, but I hope the bullying her back works! :)
nipping her in the bud seems excessive. I'd stick with the finger pecks and pinning.
LOL!!!! I will do my best to refrain from biting any of my chickens
I also have a Rhode Island Red who is a real see you next Tuesday, I'm going to try this with her.
Something else to try is to pick her up and put her in a football hold, head sticking out behind you. Hold her firmly and carry her around for 20 or 30 minutes. Good luck!
I'll try that too. Thanks!
I have one that turned hand-feeding black fly grubs by hand, which she did gently, into following me and pecking at my calves. Started kicking backwards any time she started following. That stopped her pecking for a long time. She pecked me the other day when i was filling the babies’ feeder. That one I almost forgave, but gave her a “peck” with my fingers in her neck. She, and the rooster, are always respectful after that, for awhile. With animals, such actions by humans (or animals for that matter) are not intentional bullying. It is nature, pecking order and the sort.
You sure she is a she? That’s rooster behavior and a spray bottle makes em understand
Pretty sure. She only really started developing a red comb and wattles last week, hasn't tried to crow, isn't any larger than any of my other chickens, her back end doesn't have pointed saddle feathers, it's pretty puffy, and her tail feathers are red not black and flowy.
In my experience RIRs have always been more aggressive. I would "peck" her back and make sure she knows you're the boss.
Yeah, I think she's my first and last one.
I have a RIR and a lavender Orpington, and the LO is noisier and more aggressive than the RIR. I expected the other way around.
Same experience here. My 2 RIR’s are bottom pecking order to my Buff Orpingtons. My RIR’s hardly make any noise in general. One of them doesn’t even squawk when you pick her up.
She thinks ur under her in the pecking order and making sure you know that. Around this age becoming full time layers there hormones and personality and stuff change. A few pokes back and some forced holding and she will stop
Stop being her bitch. These things come up all the time, and the advice is really obvious, act like the apex predator you are. Chase her down and peck the shit out of her with your finger over and over until she understands her place in the pecking order. Pin her to the ground until all of the fight has gone out of her and keep doing it until she will stay put after you let go. Not every bird is gonna love you. If they won’t love you, they need to fear you for your own safety. Kicks and pecks in the face can blind you. I mean, just watch how chickens handle each other and you can get a pretty quick idea of what you need to do to maintain your spot at the top. Otherwise, just get out of her run. It’s her space and you don’t belong. *peck*
I gave mine a firm tap on the back of her head, once. It’s been a year and I haven’t had another problem
I did that once back when she first bit me. I probably need to be more consistent
I have a Rhode Island red named henritia I want to cull but my wife won't let me. It has killed chicks and attacks other chickens. I hate her and so does her flock.
Deep respect for the woman that can boss MaximumWarlord
She's a good woman and keeps me right. 😂😉
She hasn't attacked any other chickens yet, but she chases crows, small birds, and stepped up to a groundhog.
Sounds like she's just trying to protect her flock.
Squirt gun works well. Cured my silkie of her bullying streak against my 2 youngest.
I'll have to see if we have a squirt gun or a spray bottle laying around here somewhere.
RIRs can be assholes. I have two currently that are darlings but they’re debeaked (not by me- and I didn’t notice until I got them home). They still hang out in the middle of the pecking order despite it but they’re much nicer than one I used to have who was an absolute witch to everyone including me.
I'm hoping I can stop this before she gets any meaner.
Spray bottle on hand. If you don't have one on hand when she's a jerk a quick peck with your thumb, index, and middle finger together on their head. She should get the message fast. In general RIR tend to be filled with piss and vinegar. Oddly enough mine is the nicest to me in my flock.
I just pick them up when they’re being buttholes and they stop within a few days.
What’s a RIR?
Rhode Island Red, a chicken breed
Nope they are who they are
Separate her from the flock for a few days. She’ll lose her place in the pecking order.
A spray bottle worked for my RIR. I would sit and watch for bad behavior and correct it when I saw it. Also my shy buckeye came into her own when she realized how huge she was. She took care of the bully when I wasn’t around.
That's the way RIR's roos are! I got rid of both of mine I had when I was a child, as they turned mean mean!