13 day old chicks still afraid of us. Are we doing something wrong?

[mmurek]

We have 6 barred rocks, got them at 6 days old. We go in to the the barn and talk to them, they seem to light up when they hear our voices. But when we try to pick them up they all run away and huddle in a corner. We pick them up and cuddle them, but they still act afraid of us. The brooder is a fairly tall. I know they are inbred to be afraid of anything coming at them from above, so we always try to reach them from the side.These are our first chicks ever, they are doing great, eating drinking and growing like weeds.Just want to have happy friendly birds when they grow up.

Mitch

 

[ChickenCanoe]

When they realize you bring food, they'll warm up. Some breeds never appreciate human company. Plymouth rocks should be relatively tame over time.
You're a predator, they're prey animals so they'll be afraid of you.

Oh, and you're much bigger than they are.

 

[RitzHomestead]

We have 6 barred rocks, got them at 6 days old. We go in to the the barn and talk to them, they seem to light up when they hear our voices. But when we try to pick them up they all run away and huddle in a corner. We pick them up and cuddle them, but they still act afraid of us. The brooder is a fairly tall. I know they are inbred to be afraid of anything coming at them from above, so we always try to reach them from the side.These are our first chicks ever, they are doing great, eating drinking and growing like weeds.Just want to have happy friendly birds when they grow up.

Mitch

Very normal, it all honestly depends on the breed and the actual chicken itself. We have 9 chickens who are 8 weeks old and majority of them will come up to me and not be too skittish, but when I try and pick them up they are usually not happy about it. It is just a internal thing that comes with chickens. The best thing that I have found is to sit down and let them climb up on you on their own. This helps them stay calm and not feel as though they are being grabbed. Once they get older over a year they should be to the point they know you are not going to kill them and some may allow you to pick them up.

 

[Julia62]

We got our first 3 chicks at 10 weeks old. They were not friendly and always ran from us for the first few weeks. Then when I come out to the run and give them scratch, they associated me with food! When they came of laying age, they squat, so I could easily reach down and pick them up. Now they are 11 months old and two of them are super friendly (Leghorn and Golden Comet) and one "tolerates" me The SL Wyandotte. Golden Comet is by far the most fun and friendly.

We have 3 little ones at 2 weeks old right now and they are skiddish too. But I sit down and talk softly to them. They do calm down but are not big on being picked up, so I don't right now.

 

[mmurek]

Thanks for the info folks, sounds like we've just got some normal acting chicks. They are not afraid of us perse, just when we try to pick them up. They are 2 weeks old today and they got a treat of finely diced hard boiled egg for their birthday. Once they figured out what it was, ate every last piece! Thanks again.