10 week old chicks - how tame is tame?

[smaress]

I've got 4 10 week old chicks (BO, GLW, Polish, SS) and I've held them daily since 1 day old, they are now out in the coop and roaming the yard during the day. They will sort of follow me around and come to me when I lure them with kiss sounds, food, etc. They will eat out of my hands but still are quite dodgy when I try to pick them up... they dart away, I have to corner them to catch them or wait until they are roosting. Once in hand they seem tolerant to being held.

Do they usually calm down as they get older (I am envisioning them coming to hop on my lap, letting people pet them, etc), any tips on how to get them to be less skittish?

 

[gamebirdsonly]

It just depends on the bird and sometimes the breed of bird I have had some that would let me pick them up and follow me around and I didn't even handle them that much as chicks and then I have had the opposite where I try to handle them more as chicks and didn't want nothing to do with me

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Put yourself in the chicks' place. Here is some hideous looking "thing" making weird noises that sounds like "Fey Frye Fo Fum", I smell the blood of a Buff Orpington..." and clumping around behind her baby chicks with its meat hooks extended. When looked at from a chickens' point of view I don't think that I would be to keen on a one of these human predator things from outer space picking me up either.

 

[ShockValue]

Chicks do seem to get a bit more skittish in their 'teenage' phase. Mine settled down quite a bit when they started to lay.

I currently have 3 'adult' birds.. 1 will always allow me to pick her up.. The other 2 is a 50/50 chance if they decide to skitter off or allow me to grab them

 

[CoopedUpChicken]

Train them

Get yourself some dried mealworms

Softly approach some of your chickens (within 10 feet of a few of them) and make a specific soft "call" and throw a little bit of the mealworms on the ground in front of your feet

After doing that a few times a day for 2 days, then approach, make your soft call and sit on the ground with the mealworms in your outstretched hand (you may want to wear gloves). Don't wave your hand around or be too loud or move your body too much.

After doing that a few times a day for 2 days, then bring a light chair with you. Set your chair down gently and make your soft "call" and sprinkle some mealworms at your feet.

After doing that a few times a day for 2 days, bring your chair with you, but this time keep the mealworms in your hand in your lap.


You have to build trust with them. This happens over time as long as you don't grab at them and let them come to you.

When I go into the coop/pen area, most of my 6.5 week old chicks love to climb all over me and get neck rubs... it's weird. The one thing I never did was do to much grabbing. Even when I'm cleaning out their pen, if some of them seem curious and act like they want to fly up on me... I'll put my forearm low to the ground so they can climb up on it if they wish. With other chicks, they will just climb up onto their roost and fly onto my back uninvited.. and others will jump on my knee or back when I'm squatting down cleaning... lol...