Teeny meany serama!

[Keeperofmunchkins]

My pocket sized 350g Serama hen suddenly dislikes me. If I go near her, especially when she is hanging out in the coop due to bad weather etc, she makes aggressive warning noises. If I touch her she pecks and bites me. She doesn't chase and attack me but definitely wants me to keep my distance.

She has always been a fiesty little thing and is high in the pecking order of my mixed flock despite being the only serama. She was broody raised but then I kept her in the house from six weeks old until when she started laying at five months and I introduced her to the outdoor flock. During that time she seemed to see me as a replaced mother figure, followed me everywhere, sat on my lap etc. Since she has been with the other chickens she has been much more distant and naturally prefers the rooster and other hens but she still would come and stand on my lap to preen herself if I sat down in the garden.

She is now almost eighteen months old. This unfriendly behaviour is very new and seems to have come from nowhere. She brooded and raised chicks recently but they are now weaned. She has not started laying again though. She isn't broody again and isn't moulting. What could be the reason behind her sudden grumpiness? Has anyone else ever had a chicken turn unfriendly on them?

 

[sourland]

She still likes you, but has decided to make you aware of your place in the pecking order. That is subordinate to her.

 

[Keeperofmunchkins]

Ohhhhhhh right, I didn't think of it that way. Not sure if i should try to remind her of my dominance like I do with my roos then or just leave her be.

 

[aart]

Are you sure she's not molting?
It can be subtle and you won't know unless you look for pin feathers(which can be 'uncomfortable' when growing in and why she's grumpy).

Was she still 'friendly' before she weaned the chicks?
She may just still have her 'broody fierce' still going on.

'Teeny Meany' cracked me up!

 

[Shorty22366]

I would remind her of your place in pecking order. No need to have a Teeny Meany. Lol

 

[ShannonR]

I would remind her of your place in pecking order. No need to have a Teeny Meany. Lol

I agree. he idea of being bullied by a chicken that size, while funny, wouldn't be tolerated very well around here.

 

[Keeperofmunchkins]

Are you sure she's not molting?
It can be subtle and you won't know unless you look for pin feathers(which can be 'uncomfortable' when growing in and why she's grumpy).

Was she still 'friendly' before she weaned the chicks?
She may just still have her 'broody fierce' still going on.

'Teeny Meany' cracked me up!

Well she moulted when the chicks were very young, and they are now three months old so I figured it was long over. And she has definitely kicked out the chicks so she isn't in mother mode anymore. she only started the teeny meany behaviour after the chicks were weaned. All through brooding and with the little babies she never pecked me once!

She hasn't started laying again though which I thought was due to the minimal daylight hours now (it gets light at 7am and dark at 4pm here).

She is tiny but really fiesty with the other chickens so on some level I am not surprised by her behaviour but it is disappointing that she seems to have forgotten the bond she used to have with me.

 

[Keeperofmunchkins]

Here she is on my lap before she decided I'm not allowed to touch her (she's the brown chicken in front) .

 

[Keeperofmunchkins]

Update on this: my serama hen restarted laying at the very end of December and went right back to liking me again. No more attacking my hand if I approach her in the coop. In fact she laid for all of three weeks and then started brooding. She is now sitting on a nest of two eggs she conned me into letting her keep (by sneakily laying them after already seeming to be broody for several days.) And she doesn't even peck me when I bother her whilst she is sitting.

So it must have been a crazy hormone thing making her mad at me before. Happens to the best of us I suppose...

 

[Suzi18]

Hormones can make females do crazy things.....just ask my husband.