How to help grandkids get over fear of getting hen-pecked???

[BarnyardChaos]

I'm at my wit's end, so I come to you wonderful folks hoping someone has an idea how I can help my grandkids get over their fear of being pecked while collecting eggs. They are 9 and 10, and collecting eggs after school is one of their chores. Most hens are finished laying by that time, and I don't have any broodies at the moment - but there are one (or two?) hens who are vicious about letting anyone touch her eggs. Not to the point of drawing blood, they just peck hands. Hard. Once your hand is under her, she stops and just fusses.

The kids don't live with us, they're just here in the mornings and after school. I've tried to teach them that this is one thing they can do to help the whole family, not just me and Grandpa. But they resist and argue with each other and me. every. single. day. I've bought them special gloves. I make sure they're wearing long sleeves (hoodie). I've put my hand in the nest with them several times, to show it's just a peck, not murder. I've withheld privileges, offered rewards, issued ultimatums, made a game or contest of it, and nearly lost my temper. We pay them an 'allowance' each week, IF they do their chores. But they'd rather forego the allowance than collect eggs.

Today, they lied. Told me there were only 14 eggs (my girls have been laying 22-26 every day). At roosting time tonight, I found eight more eggs - six in that bitchy hen's nest.

Some background: Their mother and father have recently divorced, so this is a really tough time for the kids. They spend weekends with Mom, and live with Dad (my son). My son helps us raise cattle and pigs, and gets a whole hog and half a cow every year (we pay processing, too), and as many chickens and eggs as they want.

I don't want to substitute a different chore. I want them to learn to face a challenge and overcome fear. I want them to understand how a family works together to help each other. I want them to appreciate the value of work and taking care of animals. Is that too much to ask in today's world?

How can I get the message across??? Ideas???

 

[Chicken poppy]

Hi! Before i give you my thoughts i just want to say i have had a similar situation with mostly younger kids (one 11 year old) but mostly six year olds or around that age group. I’m saying this because it probably matters a lot on how you would get them to overcome fears.

The thing to understand is you MUST let them comfortably be fine with it. Like for example, paying them off or rewards will only go so far if your genuinely scared of doing something. Have you tried explaining to them why shes doing this? I’m just thinking it might help overcome the mindset of her being aggressive towards them specifically and instead they may see her as just being protective of her eggs.

Quick question, are they scared of the chickens who are doing this or just this activity? This would matter a lot on how to fix the problem.

If scared of the chicken, do slow acclimation. If they ask to hold the hen, then for the hen to be taken off instantly take it off. Respect their wishes, show the hen does no harm, don’t force it, and that’s really all you can do.

 

[Sussex19]

When I was young, we didn't have chickens, but we did have goats.
And those goats did like to butt sometimes.
At one point I was scared of them, and would run whenever they came near me, even if it was a partially friendly one.
I don't think any pleading, asking, or telling would have changed my mind, because for me, it would have been the same as asking you to go and cuddle with a crocodile.
When you are small, things which for us as grownups seem very easy to deal with, are a huge thing!
And my 'faze' of being scared didn't last very long, if I remember correctly, so your grandkids might not either.
Just some thoughts from someone who is still pretty young myself.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Can you give them something they can use as a shield, like a pan lid, to protect themselves, so they can't get pecked? I'm thinking you can set them up to succeed - so Miss Grumpy Hen can't win! Hold the "shield" in one hand, gather the eggs with the other. If they can wear an apron with pockets, they won't need a third hand to hold a bucket to put eggs in.

Alternatively, If they wait a while, will Miss Grumpy Hen get off the nest so they can get the eggs without having to do battle at all? Kinda sounds like the hen is broody, and a broody hen's pecks really can hurt!

 

[CoopBoots]

Just throwing a couple of thoughts out here as they come to me...

If the kids aren't used to any animals at all, this may be a bit scarier for them than makes sense initially to someone like you or me. What about adding or substituting a different, more fun task, like feeding, where they won't be dealing with any aggression? Better yet, maybe some hand feeding of treats. Greedy pecks happen but they don't hurt much and it's fun to teach chickens to expect good things from you. The kids might even see the cute side of your flock and bond with them a little!

Another alternative might be more of a compromise. This one hen is a known grump. Let them collect later to try and avoid encounters, and if she in particular is in there, to be allowed to skip but come back later? Could this hen use some peepers for a bit to curb her aggression/pecking accuracy, maybe? Maybe it would even be okay for the kids to take a broom or something similarly big but scary to shoo her away as needed.

Overall, I'm a fan of compromise on this. The kids are adjusting to a big life change it sounds like, and I'd be prepared to ask for different chores or to allow avoidance/shooing* of this one nuisance hen. Hopefully with more positive interactions this eventually becomes a non-issue and the fear resolves, but it may take some time.

 

[Chicken poppy]

Can you give them something they can use as a shield, like a pan lid, to protect themselves, so they can't get pecked? I'm thinking you can set them up to succeed - so Miss Grumpy Hen can't win! Hold the "shield" in one hand, gather the eggs with the other. If they can wear an apron with pockets, they won't need a third hand to hold a bucket to put eggs in.

Alternatively, If they wait a while, will Miss Grumpy Hen get off the nest so they can get the eggs without having to do battle at all? Kinda sounds like the hen is broody, and a broody hen's pecks really can hurt!

Either a broody or egg aggressive hen i think. My neighbor has one that is fierce on the nest. It’s a bad habit, quite unfortunate.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Grandma, this could also result in a loss of trust between you and the kids. In their minds, you're requiring them to do something that's scary and hurts. They need to have someone in their lives that's trustworthy and protective, especially now that their world is falling apart. Please rethink this. Maybe you could go out there with them, and either take the grumpy hen off the nest, or block her in some way so she can't hurt them. The message you'd be giving - that you're there for them, and they can trust you to protect them - would be something they would never forget.

 

[Vata Raven]

I want them to understand how a family works together to help each other.

Them why are you not out there with them?

 

[Iluveggers]

We had a mean mean broody, and I did not like trying to get eggs from under her. What worked was a cat litter scoop, I would lift her head side with the scoop and she couldn’t reach me to peck when I got the eggs. It didn’t hurt her and I didn’t get pecked.

I do agree that this is something you should help them with at least for a bit. They may feel like this is a punishment because their parents are no longer together, and if they didn’t get divorced this wouldn’t be happening. Custody agreements may even change because of it, if they tell their law guardian that they are “forced to do chores with agressive animals” when they are with dad & his family. I would hate that to come up in court and affect the current arrangement.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

Hi! Before i give you my thoughts i just want to say i have had a similar situation with mostly younger kids (one 11 year old) but mostly six year olds or around that age group. I’m saying this because it probably matters a lot on how you would get them to overcome fears.

The thing to understand is you MUST let them comfortably be fine with it. Like for example, paying them off or rewards will only go so far if your genuinely scared of doing something. Have you tried explaining to them why shes doing this? I’m just thinking it might help overcome the mindset of her being aggressive towards them specifically and instead they may see her as just being protective of her eggs.

Quick question, are they scared of the chickens who are doing this or just this activity? This would matter a lot on how to fix the problem.

Thanks for your response. They know she's just protecting her eggs; I've talked to them alot about chicken behaviors. They are truly scared of getting pecked, but also they hate being made to do a chore - any chore.