Building relationships with skittish pullets

[TheFugitivePen]

Hello, friends!

We are first-time flock raisers, and, this summer, we received 8 day-old Black Australorp chicks. We raised them in our school room and handled them daily. While a couple remained skittish, most became very friendly, some even jumping into our hands to request pets.

However, as soon as they were fully-feathered and moved out to the coop, the entire flock became very skittish. They are not aggressive--if you manage to catch one, they don't scratch or peck, but they no longer enjoy being held. It seems to stress them, so I don't hold them unless I notice something out of the ordinary and want to make sure they're not hurt. I hand-feed them treats every day unless I'm ill. They are now 4 months old (almost 5 months but not laying yet), and want nothing to do with me unless I have food in my hands.

One pullet currently has a minor injury, so she remains separated from the flock. She gets to free range (I work from home and take my laptop out onto our porch to supervise) but then roosts in a cage in our basement/garage for about a week. She seems to tolerate me a little more, now, but mostly just wants to be left alone. When I do have to handle her, she's very calm and tolerant.

I read all of these wonderful posts about chickens acting like puppies--requesting pets and hopping into laps. It sounds lovely and endearing!

I have read so many different articles and watched various videos about bonding with chickens. Feed them treats, hand-feed them, talk to them, just hang out, "Be the rooster," etc. I feel like I've tried everything.

What else can I do to build a bond with my flock? Or did I do something wrong when they were chicks, and they will forever be backyard chickens but not really "pets"?

If it's just a breed thing or how I've raised them or even their age (maybe teenagers are grumpy across all species), I get that. I just want to make sure I'm doing what I can and have reasonable expectations ... hence my coming to you, the fabulous chicken experts Eggsperts?

Thank you so much!

 

[Hanathehappyhen]

Hello, friends!

We are first-time flock raisers, and, this summer, we received 8 day-old Black Australorp chicks. We raised them in our school room and handled them daily. While a couple remained skittish, most became very friendly, some even jumping into our hands to request pets.

However, as soon as they were fully-feathered and moved out to the coop, the entire flock became very skittish. They are not aggressive--if you manage to catch one, they don't scratch or peck, but they no longer enjoy being held. It seems to stress them, so I don't hold them unless I notice something out of the ordinary and want to make sure they're not hurt. I hand-feed them treats every day unless I'm ill. They are now 4 months old (almost 5 months but not laying yet), and want nothing to do with me unless I have food in my hands.

One pullet currently has a minor injury, so she remains separated from the flock. She gets to free range (I work from home and take my laptop out onto our porch to supervise) but then roosts in a cage in our basement/garage for about a week. She seems to tolerate me a little more, now, but mostly just wants to be left alone. When I do have to handle her, she's very calm and tolerant.

I read all of these wonderful posts about chickens acting like puppies--requesting pets and hopping into laps. It sounds lovely and endearing!

I have read so many different articles and watched various videos about bonding with chickens. Feed them treats, hand-feed them, talk to them, just hang out, "Be the rooster," etc. I feel like I've tried everything.

What else can I do to build a bond with my flock? Or did I do something wrong when they were chicks, and they will forever be backyard chickens but not really "pets"?

If it's just a breed thing or how I've raised them or even their age (maybe teenagers are grumpy across all species), I get that. I just want to make sure I'm doing what I can and have reasonable expectations ... hence my coming to you, the fabulous chicken experts Eggsperts?

Thank you so much!

Don’t worry, you didn’t do anything wrong! A lot of chickens act strangely or more standoffish as teenagers. Just be patient, sit in their coop with them, and keep an eye out for any friendlier ones. If you can win over one chicken, the rest will trust you much more.

 

[TheFugitivePen]

Don’t worry, you didn’t do anything wrong! A lot of chickens act strangely or more standoffish as teenagers. Just be patient, sit in their coop with them, and keep an eye out for any friendlier ones. If you can win over one chicken, the rest will trust you much more.

Thank you! That gives me hope!

 

[LaFleche]

They are prey animals and you catching them will make them more skittish/fearful.

If you want to inspect them for lice/mites or injuries, just do so at night using a headlamp and just carefully plucking them from their roost all the while talking gently to them so they will know that it is you and not a predator.

 

[TheFugitivePen]

They are prey animals and you catching them will make them more skittish/fearful.

If you want to inspect them for lice/mites or injuries, just do so at night using a headlamp and just carefully plucking them from their roost all the while talking gently to them so they will know that it is you and not a predator.

Good to know! Thank you!

 

[rosemarythyme]

A lot of chickens act strangely or more standoffish as teenagers.

x2 - once they get very close to point of lay, I think you'll find a lot of them reverting to behavior/personalities more similar to the ones they had as chicks.

 

[saysfaa]

My hens will hop up on my knees when I sit with them. They are underfoot so much I have trouble not stepping on them. They crowd around my hands when I clean the poop board, fill the oyster shell dispenser or feeder or set their eater down.

I could be wrong; some people seem to have chickens that like to be petted. I don't know if they are less sensitive than I think or if the chickens likes something about the petting session enough to want them anyway. I made a point not to pet them because feathers are much stiffer than fur - I think it is uncomfortable for them even when they aren't super sensitive because feathers are growing.

I've noticed that simply thinking about trying to catch them changes how I move or look at them. They pick up on that instantly and become more skittish for a few minutes. What that looks like depends on who it is. Spice will jump away faster and further and stay away longer than any of the others. The others just kinda act more attentive and turn away without necessarily getting any further away.

If I actually try to catch them, which I have done about three times in the past year (caught anyone - not caught each of them), they become much more sensitive. Even though the catches were really low drama episodes. Afterwards, they guess wrong about my intentions and spook when I'm not thinking of catching them. Spice much more obviously than the others and it lasts longer with her. Spice will do this even if it is one of the others that is caught.

Except Mocha when she was setting. I picked her up to move her out of the nest once or twice a day to make sure she got a meal, a drink, and a bath. I never bothered her feathers; I lifted her from under her feet. She grumbled a LOT but never reacted like a "caught" chicken. The others didn't up their reactivity for that like they did for the three times I counted as catching someone.

 

[K0k0shka]

They do become more withdrawn with age as they mature. Even the friendliest ones aren't as cuddly as teenagers/adults as they were when they were babies. And not just with you, but with each other, too - do you notice how the "cuddle puddle" they formed as babies is slowly fading away, and they don't huddle together anymore? So that part is normal. Generally speaking, the more time you spend with them, the better, and especially, the more time you spent with them when they were chicks, the better the final outcome. But animals are unpredictable and there are no guarantees, so they may still end up a little aloof.

I've read a lot about the "don't force contact" line of thinking, but I can't say I agree completely. With grown chickens that aren't used to it, yes, I agree - chasing them to hold them will indeed stress them out. But I made a point to hold each one of mine every day ever since they hatched. Didn't matter how much they protested - I picked up and held each chick every day, multiple times a day if I had the time for it. At first, they protested, which is to be expected, but eventually they got used to it. They saw that being picked up 1) doesn't last long, and 2) doesn't hurt. So they got over themselves. I continued to do this as they were growing up. There's some variation between the breeds and personalities, and they don't all enjoy or tolerate it to the same extent, but I can walk in and pick up each one of them without drama. Now that they're all grown up and I have several generations, it's hard to keep up the routine, but I do make a point to pick each one up at least a few times a week, just so they don't forget. I've had to treat them for mites, bathe some of them and give them a butt feather trim, I've had to treat some for wounds or illness, and it's at those times that the investment of picking them up is really paying off! When you need to handle them, for their health and safety. Some things you can do in the dark at night, but others you can't. Being able to catch each one of your chickens is important, to me at least. Not only for maintenance's sake, but also because they are pets, and to me an animal that runs from me is not a pet

This is just to explain my reasoning behind routine handling. If yours are currently not letting you pick them up, chasing them might indeed be counterproductive, but you can find other ways to desensitize them. Like routinely handling them at night on the roost. Get a head lamp so you can see (but have your hands free), go in the coop after dark, talk to them and pick each one up for a bit. They are more subdued at night, so while they'll probably still protest, it won't be as dramatic. Do this every night for a while, and after they get used to it, you can start trying to catch them during the day, too. Reward them after being held, so they build a positive association. With enough persistence, you can get them to a point where they'll tolerate being picked up. They'll likely be doing it for the treat and not for the love, but hey, they are chickens, not dogs There's only so much you can do with them.