I've got a mental itch I need scratched. Any of you people ever encounter a hen fight or group of hens fighting or going at it? I'm not talking dominant hen flogging a sub but a brawl between 2 dominant hens or 2 different groups of hens?
If so what happens during the ruckus? What was the calling like? Anybody aware of any vids with hens brawling?
I've saw it in the fall a couple of times while deer hunting.
We have 2 distinct flocks on our club and I've seen them cross paths and breakout into a hellacious fight with birds jumping on each other, hard loud fighting purrs and hitting one another hard enough to hear the thumps.
Both times, both groups ran at each other full speed and started going at it. The other guy that saw it said it looked like a basketball game going on with everyone jumping all over the place
Any cutting/clucking going on during the brawl?
I thought that was what was going on in the "Would you shoot a bird you did not call in thread". :drool: :funnyturkey: :TooFunny:
Quote from: g8rvet on March 03, 2024, 10:13:48 PM
I thought that was what was going on in the "Would you shoot a bird you did not call in thread". :drool: :funnyturkey: :TooFunny:
It took me a sec, but I finally got it! :z-guntootsmiley:
Someone posted a good video of that exact situation, great audio not so good video, don't remember if it was on here or somewhere else. Try google? Think it was a guy in stand during deer season.
Thanks Jeff, I remember watching a vid from door county Wis of 2 groups gobblers fighting but I haven't seen anything involving hens. I'll try to find it.
I have seen some hen fights in person. A couple of times they got into it pretty good, jumping up and using their wings to beat on each other. They made fight purrs much like a couple of gobblers fighting but were not quite as loud. A few other times they just postured around each other making a more throaty but aggressive purr. That wasn't very loud at all.
Pretty sure I heard one once, but by the time they came in to view they were just walking quickly through the woods. Sounded like a fighting purr, but not sure. As said, like gobbler but fewer clucks and much quieter. I heard two gobblers fighting from across a 100 yard river. That was impressive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQdZRCtebTU
didnt find the 1 I am thinking about, but this was what you were looking for
I have watched hens strut around others hens and run them around showing dominance. Just typical loud aggressive hen chattering.
Quote from: JeffC on March 04, 2024, 12:31:39 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQdZRCtebTU
didnt find the 1 I am thinking about, but this was what you were looking for
That's a good one! Thanks!
Not Video but Tes Randel has recently been posting some real good hen fight pictures. She talks about them in the Mossy Oak podcast #207 ad well, neat stuff. I hope I end up half the photographer she is some day.
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Seen it a few times, always in the fall in my experience. Fighting purrs, loud, coarse clucking and putting as they were separating were the noises.
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Now, you guys seeing them in the fall would it be safe to assume its 2 family groups going at it and Jake's are most likely involved?
I've seen hens fight without jakes involved. I've seen it mostly in the fall but also seen it a few times in the spring. Two springs ago I had an old hen that was nesting at the edge of a hay field. She'd run out and flog any other hen that came near her little corner.
Have heard two flocks come together several times in the fall. Both times it started with loud long series of yelps from hen on both sides and as the flocks closed the gap they would start cutting and yelping. I did not hear any "fighting purrs"until I started hearing wings flapping as the flocks came together. I did hear Jake yelps and then lots of gobbling once the fighting purrs started. This whole scenario played out on an opposite ridge about 200 yds from me and went on for about 15 minutes. Hard to beat sitting on a log on a cold,calm day listening to that.
I watched two large groups one fall. Probably more than 30 hens. They ran towards each other like you were watching a Civil War movie. There was more clucking and purring and jumping around than I could ever have imagined. Was almost comical. After a few minutes they separated into a few one-on-one fights and then went their separate ways.
My Eastern hens fight quite a bit. Usually it doesn't last long, but sometimes it does. They most always start by one hen talking chit to another. A low purr followed by some sarcastic whines and louder purrs, building to loud fighting purrs, clucks, putts and lots of whining.
Doesn't matter the season when a hen will fight.
Hens can kill each other in some cases. Toms more often. One mouth clamped on to another's mouth is deadly.