Two Behaviors

[micstrachan]

There are two behaviors I’ve seen in my flock that I don’t understand. One is when a hen picks up and drops something a few times, making a quick higher pitched cluck. It seems just like the sound a mama hen makes when calling her brood to a treat. But I’ve had at least two non-broody hens do this when I spoke to them and approached. To whom are they announcing their find? Is this display for me? Is it tidbitting? I thought only roosters (and mama hens) did this?

The other behavior is something that is definitely directed at me. A little history... Bridge will sometimes call me for an escort before crossing the road. Then she started calling me, but sat down when I approached. Then she started doing this thing where she drops a wing in my direction and make almost a growling sound. What is that? Bridge is also one of the hens who does the tidbitting thing. Since Margo died, Bridge is top girl. Lucky also started doing the drop wing growling thing. What is that? My flock is pretty docile and both these birds will lap sit.

Hoping @Shadrach will weigh in.

 

[Perris]

I think your girls want a roo, and to hatch a clutch of chicks. They are performing the behaviours they are missing. Shad may know better...

 

[Shadrach]

There are two behaviors I’ve seen in my flock that I don’t understand. One is when a hen picks up and drops something a few times, making a quick higher pitched cluck. It seems just like the sound a mama hen makes when calling her brood to a treat. But I’ve had at least two non-broody hens do this when I spoke to them and approached. To whom are they announcing their find? Is this display for me? Is it tidbitting? I thought only roosters (and mama hens) did this?

The other behavior is something that is definitely directed at me. A little history... Bridge will sometimes call me for an escort before crossing the road. Then she started calling me, but sat down when I approached. Then she started doing this thing where she drops a wing in my direction and make almost a growling sound. What is that? Bridge is also one of the hens who does the tidbitting thing. Since Margo died, Bridge is top girl. Lucky also started doing the drop wing growling thing. What is that? My flock is pretty docile and both these birds will lap sit.

Hoping @Shadrach will weigh in.

I think people who keep hens only primarily as pets get viewed as tribe members by the chickens far more often than with some other keeping arrangements. Of course this will depend on how much time you spend with them and often more importantly, when you spent time with them. None of the hens or roosters here tidbit for me. But, I do have two hens that will show tidbitting behavior to the rest of their tribe. In both cases there is/was a tribe rooster.
Meet Gedit. For hens here she's a big. She's 8 years old now I think. What I believe may be important is she has never laid an egg and she is the most senior in age and status in the tribe.

I've assumed that she has some kind of hormone imbalance given she is otherwise healthy. She has also seen a couple of roosters come and go in her tribe and basically she is the tribe leader. Despite not layinng eggs the males still want to mate with her. This is quite interesting in itself because the males it seems know when a hen is producing eggs. While hens here are producing eggs the roosters mate with them regularly. When they are not producing eggs the roosters tend to leave them alone.
Cockerels are different to a certain extent.
So, for Gedit, she's the tribe leader and finding food and calling the tribe for it is part of the head of the tribes job description.
It seems possible that your hen is doing much the same. The only concerning news is she things she's senior to you.
The other hen here that tidbitted for her tribe was in general far more aggressive and generally bossy than the rest of her tribe. She wasn't the most senior hen though and her position in the tribe and how she got to join it was complicated.

The wing dropping sounds like herding. This is I think quite unusual and I have never seen a hen try to herd other hens here, but there have always been roosters here even if a tribe had lost their rooster and hadn't replaced him for a period of time.

What I find fascinating is the hens ability to make these social adjustments according to the circumstances they are kept in. If you consider the behavior of the chickens ancestors there was no need for a pecking order. They didn't live in flocks. In most cases. There are a few studies of both 'wild' game fowl and zoo kept game fowl where family groups are evident and that is what I have here. Chickens are essentially tribal creatures and not flock creatures. The pecking order is an adaptation to the circumstances they are kept in rather than a 'natural' behavior current evidence would suggest.
I find it incredible that hens (roosters are technically not in the pecking order) have manged to adapt to the unnatural keeping circumstances and established a quite complex social hierarchy that helps to ensure that the most successful genes go forward (senior hens here will try to prevent juniors from mating, sitting and hatching) and at the same time minimizing conflict within the group.
I think you better grow some feathers.

 

[micstrachan]

Gedit is beautiful!

Ok, so I figured I was part of the flock (tribe.) Do they view me as the rooster? When they are in lay, some of them puff up and shake their feathers after I handle them.

Yes, maybe Bridge thinks she outranks me. She HAS given me swift, hard pecks when I was handling someone else... was she protecting them? She will also chase other hens off if she’s near me and they’re showing interest in my lap. She likes to sit on my lower legs if they’re stretched out. Here she is earlier this fall in molt, enjoying the sun and climbing onto my legs:

So the herding... they do this when I approach them, not the other way around. When Lucky did it, it seemed like it might be a defensive behavior. Lucky is probably my biggest lap sitter, but a week or so ago started running away from me and did the drop shoulder a couple times. Now she’s in a late season molt, which explains the avoidance. I’ll pay closer attention to the circumstances of WHEN they are doing the herding or drop shoulder thing. Thanks for your responses. Chicken behavior really is fascinating!

Edited to add: I forgot to mention that Bridge has not laid in over a year. Lucky was laying up until a week ago and was molting very softly until the hard molt that just started. Point being, their hormones seem different, but behavior is similar. However, despite not producing, Bridge did have a bright, plump comb and squatting brhavior in the summer.

 

[Shadrach]

Gedit is beautiful!

I think so as well.

Ok, so I figured I was part of the flock (tribe.) Do they view me as the rooster? When they are in lay, some of them puff up and shake their feathers after I handle them.

I have never understood how chickens view humans who they don't view as near and present danger predators.
I beleive most hens do that shake and yes, it does mean the hen thinks she's been mated.
The shake helps get the sperm to the right place. It's one of the reasons people get attacked by roosters. They pick the hen up, cuddle her and put her down again. The rooster knows what the shake means. reasonably he has objections to you mating one of his hens.

So the herding... they do this when I approach them, not the other way around. When Lucky did it, it seemed like it might be a defensive behavior. Lucky is probably my biggest lap sitter, but a week or so ago started running away from me and did the drop shoulder a couple times. Now she’s in a late season molt, which explains the avoidance. I’ll pay closer attention to the circumstances of WHEN they are doing the herding or drop shoulder thing. Thanks for your responses. Chicken behavior really is fascinating!

There are lots of circumstances where a rooster will herd another chicken. I assume hens, should they herd, would have a similar range of triggers.