4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Millie-Annie]

My Orpington, Octavia, has started jumping up and pecking me. She does it in the morning, when I go to collect the eggs and poop scoop. I also give them some treats at the same time.

 

Today she actually drew blood, as she is a big heavy girl with a lot of weight behind her sharp beak. She walks behind me and then jumps up and graps the top of my leg. Its not so bad at the weekend when I have jeans on, but in the week my work trousers over no protection, hence todays blood.

 

Any thoughts on why and what I can do to stop her?

 

Thank you

[Beantree]

She may be after the treats Millie-Annie and is rather impatient. Two things I'd try. First is changing the treats routine by altering the time and sometimes not giving them at all. The second would be picking her up and walking around with her to establish your dominance. Chickens train with food very easily, so if she associates some action with getting treats she will remember it. Ours follow me around hoping for treats any time after 3.00pm (usually get them at 4.00pm) but don't go wild until the grain scoop is rattled. They stop following at about 5.00pm, when they realise its too late and on that day they are not getting any.

 

One problem we get is some wait for the grain and don't eat enough pellets. They leave enough space in their crop for the 'good stuff' and don't fill up afterwards. This means on a long cold night they can run out of food so to avoid that they get several days in a row with no treats. In our case treats are crushed mixed grain with sunflowers seeds added.

[gavclojak]

I would agree re the treats.

my new girls were very pecky from day one which was weird as they didn't know what treats were, but I assumed they were experimenting with there beaks. Once they realised that pecking didn't get the results they were hoping for they soon changed their tactics, they give me the doe eyes now and I just melt

[Millie-Annie]

It makes me sad not to give them their treats as my old ex-batt Ivy sits patiently on the bin lid waiting for them. They only have a handful of meal worms. But I will try it.

 

I can't pick her up, because she won't let me. She runs away and I haven't got time in the week for running around after her.

 

I thought I might try a water spray?

[jasperaliceuk]

I've been doing a bit of clicker training with one of the girls on the patio table - she rings a bell for me - sad I know!

 

While I do that I chuck a bit of corn on the ground for the other three. If I don't, one of them - the Skyline, Ace, - pecks the back of my legs. Sure its for attention and to make me treat them!

 

Sue

[Millie-Annie]

I think that sounds amazing, I think Octavia would be trainable. I just need to train her to stop eating me first.

 

I used the water spray today, she wasn't keen and I felt cruel. I did pick her up though, and tell her how naughty she is. She wasn't keen on that either, wasn't her morning to be honest

[jasperaliceuk]

Here's a little video warts and all. Firstly I used my worst clicker which seems to have a really slow click and secondly I need to find a bell that actually rings. Or...I get her to improve her accuracy. She is so desperate to get the corn she just goes for it and I have to hid the reward under my arm or she gets too focussed on it!

 

 

I let them out one day while I was pottering at the end of the garden. Hear a bell and she was up on the table ringing it, summoning me for her treats. That really amused me!

 

 

Sue

[Millie-Annie]

Oh bless her, that is wonderful. Is she an ex-batt? She looks just like my Ivy

[jasperaliceuk]

Not an ex batt - she has been plucked a bit by the others! She's a bit of a worry at the moment as we've had some off days recently, accompanied by lashes and softies. Right as rain for the past couple of days though.

[Valkyrie]

Meanwhile all the others are waiting patiently for bits to drop through! Seriously though what a clever thing. Takes a lot of patience, but they get there.

 

Just a thought, my Squirt will go for my legs more if I have trousers - if I wear a floaty skirt she has no idea what to do. You can see her thinking how can I get the hooman though! She will also have a go if I'm chasing the pekin around (because I'm trying to get her to go to the food that I've set aside for her personal first dibs while the other big ones push her out in other areas of the garden) - cheeky pekin hides behind Squirt when the newbies are being mean.