Strange Bird

[WendyTestaburger]

I have a six month old Salmon Faverolle named Tabitha. She has always been small and feisty, for a little while we thought she would be the head hen of her generation of the flock but after integration she seems to have gotten "checked" enough by the bigger girls to give that title to our six month old Welsummer.

The strange behavior is that Tabitha pecks if you go to pick her up. Not hard, it seems like a last effort deterrent on her part. But once I wrap her in my coat she immediately nuzzles in and falls asleep. I've never had a chicken do this and so consistently. I've tried carrying her around in my coat while I do some chicken chores, since she seems to enjoy being in there, with the hopes that she would stop the initial peck but she hasn't seemed to be able to put the two together - getting picked up = warm fuzzy place I enjoy.


Has anyone else had a chicken act this way? Also does this sound like a fight or flight response? I worry that she has an underlying condition or possibly is so stressed out from being held she pretends to sleep out of fear? I definitely don't want to continue trying to win her over if it's causing that much trauma! I've honestly only had one other chicken peck me and they were in the nest box so it was a little easier for me to understand why they want me to buzz off.

 

[DonyaQuick]

Sounds like she likes the coat but doesn’t like hands. Or maybe doesn’t like the process of being picked up but likes the holding part - which is not that unusual. I have some chickens that love hugs but are weird about being lifted and prefer to jump up on my lap on their own. How do you pick her up? If you sit with her does she come over to you? If she comes to you on her own then I wouldn’t worry too much about stressing her by grabbing her, and she’ll probably get used to it but might prefer a different way of being picked up.

 

[WendyTestaburger]

Sounds like she likes the coat but doesn’t like hands. Or maybe doesn’t like the process of being picked up but likes the holding part - which is not that unusual. I have some chickens that love hugs but are weird about being lifted and prefer to jump up on my lap on their own. How do you pick her up? If you sit with her does she come over to you? If she comes to you on her own then I wouldn’t worry too much about stressing her by grabbing her, and she’ll probably get used to it but might prefer a different way of being picked up.

If I'm sitting she isn't afraid to come close to me but backs up if I put my hands out and ask if I can hold her . Almost every night she's the lone chicken left out in the run after the autodoor shuts so I go out and I'll kneel down in the doorway with my hands out to give her a chance to come to me. She's made some progress after the 800th night, she at least walks towards me now, but won't come to me so I do end up picking her up. I usually move super slow and try to get down low so I don't frighten her but she stands her ground and does the peck pretty consistently.


Another weird thing I forgot to mention is whenever I put her down she ruffles her feathers and does a quick squeak/sneeze. No signs of respiratory infection or distress so I'm just chalking this up to a funny quirk she has?

 

[DonyaQuick]

Try hand feeding snacks and getting her used to being touched lightly without being grabbed - like feed with one hand and present the other slowly in a very non-grab pose, like palm towards you and pet with the back of the fingers. Then work up to palm on her where she would be picked up and see if she still hates it.

The ruffling does suggest something about being grabbed/held is either uncomfortable or overstimulating. She may just not like the sensation- nothing necessarily abnormal there, just individual bird differences. Some birds also have a strong preference for whether they face away from or towards you when picked up.

 

[WendyTestaburger]

Try hand feeding snacks and getting her used to being touched lightly without being grabbed - like feed with one hand and present the other slowly in a very non-grab pose, like palm towards you and pet with the back of the fingers. Then work up to palm on her where she would be picked up and see if she still hates it.

The ruffling does suggest something about being grabbed/held is either uncomfortable or overstimulating. She may just not like the sensation- nothing necessarily abnormal there, just individual bird differences. Some birds also have a strong preference for whether they face away from or towards you when picked up.

Thanks for the tips! I'll give the hand feeding a try and see if I can't get her used to my hands getting close to her

 

[CloneFly]

I have a six month old Salmon Faverolle named Tabitha. She has always been small and feisty, for a little while we thought she would be the head hen of her generation of the flock but after integration she seems to have gotten "checked" enough by the bigger girls to give that title to our six month old Welsummer.

The strange behavior is that Tabitha pecks if you go to pick her up. Not hard, it seems like a last effort deterrent on her part. But once I wrap her in my coat she immediately nuzzles in and falls asleep. I've never had a chicken do this and so consistently. I've tried carrying her around in my coat while I do some chicken chores, since she seems to enjoy being in there, with the hopes that she would stop the initial peck but she hasn't seemed to be able to put the two together - getting picked up = warm fuzzy place I enjoy.


Has anyone else had a chicken act this way? Also does this sound like a fight or flight response? I worry that she has an underlying condition or possibly is so stressed out from being held she pretends to sleep out of fear? I definitely don't want to continue trying to win her over if it's causing that much trauma! I've honestly only had one other chicken peck me and they were in the nest box so it was a little easier for me to understand why they want me to buzz off.

If I'm sitting she isn't afraid to come close to me but backs up if I put my hands out and ask if I can hold her . Almost every night she's the lone chicken left out in the run after the autodoor shuts so I go out and I'll kneel down in the doorway with my hands out to give her a chance to come to me. She's made some progress after the 800th night, she at least walks towards me now, but won't come to me so I do end up picking her up. I usually move super slow and try to get down low so I don't frighten her but she stands her ground and does the peck pretty consistently.


Another weird thing I forgot to mention is whenever I put her down she ruffles her feathers and does a quick squeak/sneeze. No signs of respiratory infection or distress so I'm just chalking this up to a funny quirk she has?

I have a few chickens that do the same. Usually, they'll just peck the hand because I have a birthmark that they haven't figured out isn't edible yet lol.

It sounds like she might be a bit shy. If she's been under the coat, she may be ruffling her feathers to smooth them out- my hens always do this after they've been cuddled or handled in any way other than a simple pick up and move. I'm not sure about the sneeze though. It could be a quirk of hers. She's a real cutie though! I have a amererucana hen the same age with the same name

 

[Mrs. K]

I don't think she likes it. The shake is what they do after they have been dominated by a rooster. After being bred, they shake the sperm into place. I don't think she is loving the snuggle as giving into the dominance.

Some birds just don't like to be handled.

 

[WendyTestaburger]

I've been giving her some space and she seems to be coming up to me more, even standing by the door when I'm walking around outside. I'm moving much more slowly when I do need to pick her up (to move her to the coop for example) and if I notice her backing up and extending her neck like she's about to peck I'll freeze my hands until she relaxes a but then I'm able to pick her up without the peck so I'll just give her a little extra time to process the incoming hands

 

[WendyTestaburger]

I have a few chickens that do the same. Usually, they'll just peck the hand because I have a birthmark that they haven't figured out isn't edible yet lol.

It sounds like she might be a bit shy. If she's been under the coat, she may be ruffling her feathers to smooth them out- my hens always do this after they've been cuddled or handled in any way other than a simple pick up and move. I'm not sure about the sneeze though. It could be a quirk of hers. She's a real cutie though! I have a amererucana hen the same age with the same name

Aww that's so funny! We have two ameracaunas who are about 1.5 years old. They're named Kookie and Apple they're feisty little birds but also super sweet

 

[WendyTestaburger]

I don't think she likes it. The shake is what they do after they have been dominated by a rooster. After being bred, they shake the sperm into place. I don't think she is loving the snuggle as giving into the dominance.

Some birds just don't like to be handled.

Oh no, I really don't want to stress her out so I'll wait for her to come to me. She seems to be warming up so hopefully she'll come around soon but until then I'll just cuddle the ones who are okay with it