Are my Chicks too comfertable with people?? Did I mess up..

[Bairdfamily]

So after a month of building a brooder and coop, lots of research we finally bought our chicks. The feed store said they were a day old so they were brand new babies! I have Two RIR and 2 Barred Rock (4 total-all girls) We has some cold weather so We( me and my 3yr old son) have been handling them a lot bringing them in and out. Now they are about 4 weeks old and they are more like parrots than chickens! They love to jump on your arm and crawl up to your shoulder and just hang out, I really don't mind that they are so playful and like to be held OTHER than I know that they will get bigger with a lot sharper claws! Do I need to worry about this and not try and handle them so much or just keep doing what I'm doing? Any help is much appreciated Thanks in advanced!!

Carrie ,Adam, & Wes

 

[Bairdfamily]

I have gone through the other similar threads and read and read! and I am probably being too worried, But as a first time chicken owner I just want to make sure I'm doing things Right THANKS AGAIN!!

 

[Mtn Laurel]

I don't think you have anything to worry about as they're still chicks and will go through phases much like babies and toddlers do. My chicks were very friendly until they hit about age 6 weeks and then they were suddenly afraid of me. Come to find out that's not unusual. That went away somewhat but they were never as friendly as they were in those first initial weeks.

They got very strange immediately prior to laying, afraid of me and of everything. When they began to lay, they mellowed out and their true personalities appeared. Some are again very friendly and there are a few who still don't care for me.

 

[Bairdfamily]

Thanks SO much I suppose We will enjoy their affection while we can Adam sure does love it...and so do I It was a little unexpected. Great information good to know that their attitudes ill chang( because I would have been worried when that happened) will keep that in mind!

 

[ChickensRDinos]

Exactly. They do go through different stages and have a sort of grumpy teenage phase that they will get into soon. They will be calm again once they start laying.

 

[Chicks Galore3]

I had that same worry - my chicks would liked to sleep on my legs/lamp and a couple flew to my shoulder. My chickens, now almost 2 years old, still like to sit in my lap, but only one ever tried to jump onto my shoulder as an adult - a gold star. You can tell it's coming - they pace back in forth in front of you and give you a funny, creepy, staring-down-look and then jump. I don't think this is very common, though. My gold star is very small, which is why she could do it.

 

[Bairdfamily]

That is soo funny! I have one Barred rock chick that is A LOT smaller than all the others She especially like to be held and for me to cup her in my hand and pet her puts her right to sleep!

 

[Chicks Galore3]

Aw!!!

My chick(en)s never liked to be picked up...

 

[ChickenLegs13]

My baby chicks are like my little buddies until they get about 4 months old then they start acting like stinkin chickens. Out of 50 full grown chickens maybe 5 will let me pet them and only 2 of those will allow be picked up peacefully.

 

[One Chick Two]

They change so much during their first year.

Our (80) chickens were extremely friendly as chicks. The pullets especially went through a grumpy teenage stage, and are now friendly again. We had one ultra sweet, friendly cockerel I was especially close to since he was one day old, as he would come running when he saw me, and sat on my lap. When he hit the teenage stage, he didn't want to spend time with Mom anymore. It's not that he's exactly unfriendly now or avoids, he's just a normal cockerel now.

Another cockerel decided he especially liked me during his teenage stage after being shy as a chick. He always asked to be picked up by pulling on my pantleg with his beak. He would keep pulling the fabric until he was picked up. lol For a few months I would take a walk, and he wanted to go with me, and seemed happy during the walks. Then, one day, he broke his leg. And for nearly 6 weeks he was infirm, and tired of being picked up, perferring to be independent. Now, a few months later after his recovery, he has grown up, and become handsome. He crows, mates with his girls, and is confident and very friendly again, but still asks to occasionally be picked up.

You'll find you will have many stories like these, but you'll see that all of the birds go through some changes, and socializing I believe has always worked for us, especially in emergency situations.