Poultry Talk Ontario (pto.ca)

I have a RSL that I'm calling "Pecky Patty" for now.
Every time she can get near me, she pecks lightly (like a tap) on my leg, arm, head, etc. Makes me glad I'm wearing pants, jacket, gloves, and hat.
She lets me pick her up, and many times I can feel her quivering; but sometimes, she would rather not be held.
Is this friendly chicken behavior or being bossy?

I had a hen that would peck at my legs whenever I was doing stuff in the run and hadn't put anything in the way of treats down for them. It was just her way of saying, "hi, do you have anything for us/me?". She was always super friendly and chatty with us and a benevolent head hen. I think that your hen is just trying to get your attention - friendly, assertive. Not domineering.

Recessive /aggressive she’s trying to train you .

ross wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 18, 2019 3:34 pm

Recessive /aggressive she’s trying to train you .

Not sure if I'm going to spend the time trying to figure out what she wants, Ross.
Most likely, it's treats a.k.a. meal worms.

Shes a friendly smart hen trying to see if she can get you to dole out some treats. As Ross says, "you are in training", might take her a while to train you though from the sounds of it. Shes probably shaking her head telling the rest of them," They are so hard to train, such short attention spans, I swear this was the first time I even got noticed"

that's it in a nutshell, @kenya !

Kenya, that is hilarious! By the sounds of all this, you guys are probably right!
But you know what they say, "If I give a treat to one of them, then it will have to be to all of them."
I'm tempted to take a chair into the enclosure, sit down, and see what happens, but it's too darn cold out there. Will have to wait for spring. Oh wait... when the snow is gone, and it's warm enough, we will be letting them out to free range. Then Pecky Patty will be distracted by the great outdoors and not bother me.
There you go... She is amusing herself right now.

Once it starts they will be bashing on the kitchen door like Sister!

kenya wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 18, 2019 5:12 pm

Shes a friendly smart hen trying to see if she can get you to dole out some treats. As Ross says, "you are in training", might take her a while to train you though from the sounds of it. Shes probably shaking her head telling the rest of them," They are so hard to train, such short attention spans, I swear this was the first time I even got noticed"

My partridge Silkie, Shirley, does that every time I'm in the coop or her run....and yep, I make sure I have treats or she won't leave me alone......she has me well trained

She is a head hen, making sure you know that she must get the treats first!