What makes a chicken coop easy to live with?

[A chickychickychick-ENN!!]

My Fenning Sussex (Light Sussex hybrid - the white one in my signature pic) is settling in well, and will now let me hold her. She also has the gentlest peck when taking food from the hand, despite being top chicken.

 

However, whenever I pick her up, she does a bit of squawking (fair enough) and raises her neck feathers like a dog raises its hackles!

 

It's really funny because that area of her neck is highlighted with a black feather section, so it's very impressive. And as I'm holding her, I get a full view from above of a featherless scrawny skin-tastic chicken neck, as all her feathers are high in the air.

 

None of my other hens do this. The breeder described the black as a 'hackle' so I presume it is exactly like the dog thing to appear more imposing and impressive to an enemy, but I am curious as to why only she does it. Is it a Sussex thing? A feisty thing? A terrified thing? Other?

 

Anna x

[Angels4]

I think it's just a "top-chook" thing. My Ouiser does the same.

[MedusA]

My Suffolk Noir, Treacle does the same. She's not top chook, Scully is. Neither of the "gingers" do, but now I've started introducing my 2 Araucanas to the big girls, I've noticed Violetta doing it too, especially when she's squaring up to them, anticipating trouble ahead.

[Gamebird]

My Ginger Ranger raises her neck feathers when I pick her up and she is definitely not top chicken.

 

Dogs raise their hackles to make them look bigger than they are, not usually out of aggression but out of fear - it's a defense mechanism. Maybe chickens do the same thing.

[BeckyBoo]

Our speckledy is the only one that does it, and she only does it when she's broody!

 

Mrs B

[Laura&Sean]

That's funny my light sussex Dolly does exactly the same!

All the feathers around her neck stand up when we pick her up its quite amazing!

She is top hen and blooming noisy too!