newbie looking for advice

hi all,

my partner and i have recently got 2 chickens, as pets, for the back door. we all think their fantasctic. we have a sussex star and a bluebelle.

when we got them we were told that they were roughly 18 - 19 weeks, is there any way of telling for sure what age they are? and also at what age they will start laying?

the kids keep checking every morning for eggs and are starting to get a bit down hearted because they've not found any yet.

another question i have is how do i get them to be more friendly. i understand that they will take a wee while to settle in to their new home, but would love to be able to handle them and let the kids handle them. as yet they run away from us any time we get close. will this come with time?

any help or advice is greatly appreciated.

I don't have anyway to tell how old they are for sure. Most breeds of hens lay at about 5-7 months, although we had some that didn't lay until after the winter so they were 9 months old.

Taming your chickens is a little easier, although it can take awhile. First off, food goes a long way to making them feel friendly toward you. Sunflower seeds, cracked corn, meal worms and table scraps are favorites. Make sure anyone spending time with the chickens remembers to stay calm and quiet. Sit quietly, call the chickens to you and then sprinkle the food. Once they are excited to see you because you mean treats, try offering the food in your hand. As they get more comfortable with you, they may hop up on your lap on their own. If not, once they are consistently eating out of your hand, you can try petting and picking them up. Make sure those experiences are pleasant and then repeat often. Please note that if they weren't hand raised and handled a lot when young, they may never really like it. Depends on their personalities.

my2chooks said:

hi all,

my partner and i have recently got 2 chickens, as pets, for the back door. we all think their fantasctic. we have a sussex star and a bluebelle.

when we got them we were told that they were roughly 18 - 19 weeks, is there any way of telling for sure what age they are? and also at what age they will start laying?

the kids keep checking every morning for eggs and are starting to get a bit down hearted because they've not found any yet.

another question i have is how do i get them to be more friendly. i understand that they will take a wee while to settle in to their new home, but would love to be able to handle them and let the kids handle them. as yet they run away from us any time we get close. will this come with time?

any help or advice is greatly appreciated.

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Hi my2chooks,

Welcome to the forum, and congratulations on getting chickens. How COOL is that?

I think that the eggs may be just a couple of weeks away....5-6 months is a good target, and it will take your chooks just a little while to get used to new surroundings. So--maybe at 20 weeks or 24 weeks those first eggs will come. Ahh the wait. Hope your kids can hold on and be patient.

Agreed that food will make them more friendly as will just being around you for awhile. Seems like the closer to the back door and the more frequently the chickens get visited, and the more used to us the calmer they are. I have also seen and heard that if one needs special treatment and is 'forced' to spend time under human care....they adjust to humans pretty quickly.

I don't think that we have bluebelles here in the USA, but I have heard of them a lot in the UK.....and...sussex star -- sounds like a hybrid, so you have great chickens. Good luck with getting them to be more friendly---it will just take time.