I've got 2-buff brahmas 2 weeks old 2-EE's 2 weeks old 2-Jersey Giants 1 week old there all in the same big trunk, i want them to trust and be able to be handled and picked up, by me and my G?F and her grandson, "pets" what do you all do so when they grow up they can be handled? My comets i got last year were 6 month olds, and they would follow me around the yard and would come when i yelled GIRLS,,GIRLS and let me pick them up, these chicks run and scream into a corner when i reach in,,,it freaks ME out,, when i hold them they want to jump back into the trunk,,,seems there scared of me??? how do i get them to trust me? thanks
Patience, time and treats. We humans are large predators in the eyes of chickens. Just move very slowly and spend quiet time with them. They will come around I have always found it freaks them out a little less if I pick them up from underneath the breast opposed to grabbing over the top of the head and holding wings if that makes sense. Time and patience.
I have 1-wk. old chicks and wondered the same, then 4 days ago found this advice in a forum on this site, and it has made a world of difference. You need to be able to look/reach into their cage from the side, not the top. As soon as I arranged this, their attitude changed. Instead of running away from the Terrifying Big Hand, they looked at my face as I talked to them, and explored my hand which I let them hop onto and off again without being 'grabbed.' Offer something they love to eat, put it on your hand several times a day. When we are not home, I put a radio next to their cage, so they are used to human sounds. I like the public radio station as it seems to be calming. Now they call to me and when I come, they run up to their door, happy to see me.
