Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the henhouse… :D
This is Satanica, a Silver-Laced Wyandotte. She is at least six years old, possibly seven. She still lays eggs, mostly because it gives her a good opportunity to bite whomever has to gather them (meaning me). She usually aims for hands or arms, although she will peck at your eyes if given the opportunity.
Hatchery catalogues usually describe this breed as “quiet,” “calm,” “good pets,” and “docile.”
They lie.
My four Wyandottes are the nastiest hens on the place. I know chickens have a pecking order, and I know broody hens are tough to deal with, but these ladies go beyond all of that. They are utterly malevolent. (I still like them though.)
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People who think chickens in general are docile and serene creatures, except when scared, should take care of ‘em for a while. I had my wrist broken by an angry rooster last summer, which increased my wariness of the birds considerably. I’m convinced that if chickens were big enough, we would be their prey.
Wow, that’s crazy, I’ve never heard of someone having had a bone broken by a rooster. I’ve heard of geese breaking people’s bones, though. What breed was the rooster?
And I agree with you, if chickens were bigger, they’d be eating us. I sincerely like my chickens, but really, they can be pretty nasty to each other.
Actually, I don’t know what breed the roosters are — my housemates have had chickens here for years, though.
Okay…”broken” is an exaggeration, since I don’t know if he actually broke a small wrist bone or not, but it felt like it. I had to wear a brace for over a month. He attacked me for trying to remove the body of a dead hen from the henhouse. He had the advantage, as I had my arm outstretched into a narrow space and he was less than a foot away. Feathered bastage!
lol nasty. Hope he got cooked for dinner. :)
My SLW hen is VERY docile. I think your hens just aren’t normal “Wine-Dots”