Your thoughts on having "tame" chicks??

[SierraView]

I give fine dry bread crumbs in my hand when there are a couple days old. They love them and come running to my hand and become very tame. These are bantam cochins and I think they are a social chicken compared to other breeds.

 

[tinydancer87]

I've got 17 feed store chicks in my kitchen right now, in a rubbermaid tote. 5 EE, 1 RIR, 1 Golden Comet, 10 assorted bantams. They will peck at my freckles and take tiny pieces of bread from me, but they are just hardwired to freak out when something (my hand lol) comes into the tote from above. Once it's in the seem fine. They are also entering the "wild" phase, as I call it, where they start doing a lot of jumping around and trying to escape

 

[Sparky43]

I am a first timer and got some 3 day old chicks 10 days ago. I was tryin to hold them and rub their heads, but I found out they would rather just perch on my middle finger, while I rub their chest with my pointer. Eating out of my hands works well, a couple hop right on my hand and try to crawl up my arm. It's a lot of fun watchin them grow so fast! They are BSL chicks (6)

 

[hennyandpenny]

with my fist batch of chicks(3 weeks old now) i had amaracauna and production reds i took away their main feeder and piut the food in my hand and let them peck it out of my hand those chicks are lett afraid of me then my newer batch (less than a week) the are more a fraid of me. i do believe some breeds are more comfortable with humans than others

 

[Nslangton]

I had my chicks in a tabletop clear brooder for week one. They were only inches away from us and we could see and talk to them and they could see their surroundings. It seemed to really get them used to people. They are now in a 200 gallon water trough that my dogs jump on constantly. Nothing bothers them. I handle them daily. Pet, feed, & just let them peck my hands. They are in a building that has lots of activity daily and see people all of the time. They perch close to the top and let me pet them there without them running away. They seem to be very friendly and there coop will be in the same building with people going in and out all day long. They are already tame at three weeks old. By the way I have four white leghorns and three RI Rs. The leghorns are much calmer and friendlier then the RI R's. I don't know why they get such a bum rap, mine are such sweet girls.

 

[galanie]

Get some baby chick food and wet it till it's a thin paste. Then take them into the bathroom, sit on the floor, and feed your babies that goo in your hand. I say the bathroom cause they're generally small and easy to clean the poo up cause they poo a LOT lol. And put a towel on your legs for the same reason. I don't know why but it seems all chicks LOVE their food in a paste. It's like as if it's a completely different food to them but has a familiar taste.

 

[BantamoftheOpera]

All of my girls are friendly, but Tizzy my EE is the best and visits my shoulder frequently. I think this is because as a chick she started to get pasty butt, so she was handled the most. What I would recommend is to touch the birds in all of the areas you will ever need to inspect/treat. For me, I neglected the combs and wattles on my first batch and my birds get nervous when I go near those areas. Work on taming them, but also work for the practical management practices.

 

[Purdy]

handle them a lot as chicks. find a treat they like and feed them from your hand. They will start to jump higher and higher.
Call them by their names every time you see them. Rooster them on your arm and lap and let fly off. Feed them treats as they roost on you,
and before long they return to your arm. My chickens love American cheese, the sound of unwrapping a slice makes them all run
like Olympiads. As I break it up it to small pieces, they all start to jump higher and higher

 

[the_great_snag]

What do you consider to be "traumatic"? We pretty much just hold them and pet/rub them.

I mean if you have to chase them to catch them and then they are not properly supported while squawking their little heads off. That kind of traumatic. I try to cup them in my hands and make them as cozy as possible when I hold them.

 

[turney31]

I don't tame my chicks. I am slow, quiet and gentle while caring for them. They come to feed and I have no trouble petting many of them. I believe in letting chickens be chickens.