7 week old chicks chirp a lot and scared to death of me, normal?

[openheartnurse]

So I have 6 chicks that are seven weeks old now. I have them in my garage in a kiddy pool with 4 foot chicken fence around it, occasionally I will turn on the heat lamp on the colder nights. I am not able to hold them a lot because the fence is high and I am afraid of them getting loose in the neighborhood if they jumped out of my hands. They are very skiddish and seem to only like me when I am giving them treats.

They also seem of chirp/talk a lot, is this normal or something they will grow out of? I really thought this would be a fun family thing to do, but they don't seem very family friendly right now. The coop I am getting has taken longer to get than expected and once in the backyard they will be able to roam a little more space. Thanks for all the help in advance!

Will

 

[tlcarnes2176]

They need space to roam and to be handled more. They chirp a lot when they aren't happy. At least that's my experience! Hope your coop gets they soon and that you and your family get to hold them more often.

 

[realsis]

X2 they usually chirp a lot when scared cold or unhappy. Imprint them now by handling them. Bring them inside to sit on your lap they love it.if you don't imprint them when they are young you will get a grown bird you can't catch. Trust me if you imprint them now you will have wonderful loving birds when they grow up. My grown birds lay on my belly and fall asleep. They love people and get so excited when I come around. Still to this day I'll bring them inside every now and then one at a time and they will perch on the couch and watch tv with me. You may not want to go that far but you at least want to be able to catch your bird. Handling them now will help you out later.

 

[flgardengirl]

Sit down in their pen (bring something to sit on lol). Bring treats. Coax them to you and let them climb on you to get the treats. This may take several tries but they will get friendly as they get used to you. All my chickens are very friendly when young because we do this and handle them a lot.

 

[Araucana16]

Mine were always rather calm. It may have been easier since I only had three.

So I'll talk about my beardies a bit...

When they were younger, they were absolutely vicious (would bite me the second my hand entered their cage). Now, they are so sweet. Really, all it took was some time, and some pretty nice gloves. The same goes for chickens. Almost any *hen* can be turned sweet as pie in just a few days or weeks, even to the point where they seek out human contact. Just hold them a lot, very calmly, in a way that is comforting to them. No loud noises, hold them to your chest so they feel your body heat.

 

[tyree family fa]

I have tons of chickens and all of them are pets! pretty much it just takes time. That means holding them, and feeding them from your hands.