Howdy from Kerrville, TX

I have just moved back here from Colorado (came to my senses). I have just gotten 2 Bielefelder hens for pets. We had a chicken pet as a child and now that I am retired I wanted that warm and fuzzy chicken love again. I had a inside outside coop made with a tunnel into out shop which is insulated, with central heat and air for their comfort. The hens are 2 months old. The have caught on to the waterer, which is a cooler with little metal things that when they peck at, water comes out. Last night, their second night they actually went inside all by themselves! I have some huge mirrors that were there when I moved here and so I can easily double or even triple my flock and then go back to just the 2 hens. They seemed pretty frightened at first as I think they had never, been in a car in a cat carrier, and been in a huge place with a strange woman! they are doing better. I need all the help I can get as I want to make them happy and comfortable. They certainly are safe, I had the cages double wired, wire underneath and 4" cement pavers cemented over them. Outside there is a tall cement wall and overhang of the metal roof, and the wall of the building on the other side and every crevice cemented or wired over. I am spending about 10-15 minutes with them each hour and so far they now come and eat the medicated crumble food with my hand hanging down. I need some chicken taming advice, or any advice or does anyone live near Kerrville who wants to be my chick friend? I am retired. Lee

Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. My wife and I were both raised in the great state of Texas. ) You have some beautiful Bielefelder pullets. Thanks for posting the pic. If you haven't done so already, definitely check out our Learning Center at https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center. There is loads of useful information there. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Cheers.

Hello and welcome to BYC!

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

I find that my chicks are very nervous..most of them, up until they start to lay, the bam! They all of a sudden love you. They come for treats, they will squat, because they are laying. They will talk to you. Just wait, you will see a difference!

Welcome to the BYC flock! We are glad you joined us!

Thanks I need all the help I can get, although I am smitten with the hens, I think they are coming along well. They don't seem to want to eat or try anything besides the chick medicated feed crumbles stuff, how do you get them interested? They did catch on to the toogle waterer right away, and now I am wondering how or if to heat it this winter, it rarely gets cold here, or freezes...

Nice to meet you Lee, glad you joined us at Backyard chickens . The way to a chicken's heart is through hand feeding treats - just be sure to count your fingers after doing so. They love meal worms(ugh), watermelon, black oil sunflower seeds. Just be sure treats only make up 10% of their feed, or else they will turn their beaks up at their nutritionally balanced feed.

Very nice to meet you too! I was very involved with Donkeys for the last 10 years, I found that the way to a donk's heart was also through the stomach. I have bought 7 pounds of dried meal worms, not realizing that was a bit much but I will go through them after a fashion. I have been offering them all sorts of things, kale, cantaloupe, and tomato bits, the only thing they responded to was the tomato bits, and then it was just a brief skirmish and ignored. This morning I will try the meal worms, I had actually forgotten I had bought them! They did, yesterday eat some of their food from my hand, and I am like, hanging my hand around them and they are pretty used to that now. They still seem, well, frightened, when I go out to see them which is about 7 times a day, they seem to be hiding under the ramp to the tunnel to inside or under a box I have leaning against the wall, they were in a open faced small sort of raised box when when I got them, and I think they are just not used to, and frightened by the "big" places they are in now. But when I go out to them, they immediately come out and eat like they are starved and drink, so my question is, should I take away the hiding places now? and force them to be brave and get used to being in the open or let them have the security of a small place? I will try the meal worms this morning too!