Affectionate Chicken Normal Behavior?

[kcan2]

What a great chicken owner you are! You put those of us with standoffish chickens to shame. My favorite memory of my rooster happened right after we got home from hitting a deer (very scary). As we drove up the driveway he was waiting in the yard and when he heard my voice, he chased the car down the driveway! Of course he got scooped up for a quick snuggle and then I found him some treats (what he was really after)...
Here is a picture of him waiting by the front door for me to come out in the morning! He was still in poor health at that point and was travelling from across the road from his previous owner's place, but two days in he had figured out where to find the food source!

Oh yes, they are such special & delightful creatures. Chickens are completely oblivious to how much delight and enrichment they bring to life. That is part of their mission, I think.

Agreed 100%!

 

[kcan2]

Dearest BarredRockMom,
Thank you for such a thorough and delightful explanation of your experiences with your girls! I loved the way you explained the relationships! While reading my head was saying, “Yes, Yes”, because I had experienced something similar. My eyes teared up at your losses because I have yet to get to that stage of our relationships. I can’t imagine my two affectionate hens not being out there to greet me when I come outside. I’m also glad to learn we aren’t alone ending up with mean buddies after introducing new pullets. I had to add an entire new wing to the coop because they just wouldn’t get along.
It’s something special when you go out late at night to close the coop door and the special one comes off her perch to greet you as if to ask, “Where have you been all day?” She behaves differently and likes to snuggle. She will find her way under my jacket to get as close as possible.
Yes, there are some very special ones out there that make me certain they are worth all that I have invested in them. They are so much more than just chickens! thank you again for your post!

This thread reminded me of this video! Some chickens are just extra special!

 

[BarredRockMom]

Nah, there's no putting anyone to shame. The chickens trained me and continue to do so each day. Just happens that I've been willing to let them.

My two wonderful roos were cuddly, in very different ways from each other. My #1 was a perfect Barred Rock who ran like the speed of a rocket, Rocket Man. Perfect looking, perfect acting, polite to his ladies, kept us at arm's length, never attacked us. But at night, if his girls got tucked in before he got to bed & the light was out, he'd wait for me to come tuck them in & brush against my legs. I would speak softly to him, bend down, explain that I was going to pick him up & put him on the perch (next to his next fav hen). I'd bend down, he'd steel himself and get stiff as a board, I'd lift each foot onto my hands, lift slowly & balance him against my chest then deposit him carefully on the rail. Once there, he'd relax, settle in & I could pet and kiss him goodnight. But daylight was a different thing... ZERO chance that he'd take time away from the girls to spend even a second for himself.

My #2 roo (Mr Peanut in my avatar) came from some friends who decided that chickens would be a good idea & got them from TSC. Well, when they knew that he was not a she, he had to go (neighborhood rules, etc.). They asked if we wanted to come get their cockrel & make him soup because "we can't have him, he crows all of the time, he's mean & aggressive."

Turned out that he was NOT. Let's just say that if YOU had a dog chasing YOU, trying to kill or harm you or YOUR family, it'd be on now wouldn't it?! (Personal experience with that dog let me know that it was an indulged a**hole...and yes, it's the owners' fault for not correcting a negative behavior with people, so if course a lowly chicken being chased didn't bear correction either. Don't get me started )

On the way home, riding in a box on my lap, I found him to be very quiet & subdued. So I opened the box a wee bit to see if he was ok. He was laying on the towel & just looked up at me. He looked small & afraid, having just had a traumatic capture & now having left the only surroundings he'd known. So I reached in & put my hand on his back to pet and reassure him that he was safe. Poor thing was stiff and so tense! The moment I touched him he started to relax. I don't know that he was able to conceptualize what I was saying or where he was going but he landed in Shangri La!

Of course the girls wanted NO part of him and the Rocket Man wanted to whoop his behind every day, multiple times. He slept inside until his feathers came in fully & we made a separate outdoor enclosure adjacent to the chicken yard and would put him outside daily. Everyone could see but not touch. We integrated him eventually & he was able to stay outside, but he'd bonded with me. (And I made no secret that I was his person, either, though I loved on & respected EVERYONE. He was my chicken, that's for sure!)

Oh how I loved that guy! Taught him to sit on my shoulder, climb steps, how to find food, ahhh. I'd be in the chicken yard with my pitchfork often, turning the dirt & getting rid of the chicken bombs. When he'd had enough & thought that it was time to cuddle, he'd wait until I was bent over, jump up on my back & plop down, refusing to move. It must've been a sight for anyone passing...as I frequently had to maneuver him by pulling my shirt up, lol. (And I tried the 'Ok, well I will just stand up & teach you'. After scaring the b'jeezus outta him and him clawing for purchase...on my back...I chose another way!)

They are why I love roosters, those two dear boys. And why, if ever we win the lottery, I want to have a huge bachelor colony. There will be room for the previously unwanted roos from far & wide. It will be a retirement home for boys to match the old age home for hens that we run now!

 

[kcan2]

Nah, there's no putting anyone to shame. The chickens trained me and continue to do so each day. Just happens that I've been willing to let them.

My two wonderful roos were cuddly, in very different ways from each other. My #1 was a perfect Barred Rock who ran like the speed of a rocket, Rocket Man. Perfect looking, perfect acting, polite to his ladies, kept us at arm's length, never attacked us. But at night, if his girls got tucked in before he got to bed & the light was out, he'd wait for me to come tuck them in & brush against my legs. I would speak softly to him, bend down, explain that I was going to pick him up & put him on the perch (next to his next fav hen). I'd bend down, he'd steel himself and get stiff as a board, I'd lift each foot onto my hands, lift slowly & balance him against my chest then deposit him carefully on the rail. Once there, he'd relax, settle in & I could pet and kiss him goodnight. But daylight was a different thing... ZERO chance that he'd take time away from the girls to spend even a second for himself.

My #2 roo (Mr Peanut in my avatar) came from some friends who decided that chickens would be a good idea & got them from TSC. Well, when they knew that he was not a she, he had to go (neighborhood rules, etc.). They asked if we wanted to come get their cockrel & make him soup because "we can't have him, he crows all of the time, he's mean & aggressive."

Turned out that he was NOT. Let's just say that if YOU had a dog chasing YOU, trying to kill or harm you or YOUR family, it'd be on now wouldn't it?! (Personal experience with that dog let me know that it was an indulged a**hole...and yes, it's the owners' fault for not correcting a negative behavior with people, so if course a lowly chicken being chased didn't bear correction either. Don't get me started )

On the way home, riding in a box on my lap, I found him to be very quiet & subdued. So I opened the box a wee bit to see if he was ok. He was laying on the towel & just looked up at me. He looked small & afraid, having just had a traumatic capture & now having left the only surroundings he'd known. So I reached in & put my hand on his back to pet and reassure him that he was safe. Poor thing was stiff and so tense! The moment I touched him he started to relax. I don't know that he was able to conceptualize what I was saying or where he was going but he landed in Shangri La!

Of course the girls wanted NO part of him and the Rocket Man wanted to whoop his behind every day, multiple times. He slept inside until his feathers came in fully & we made a separate outdoor enclosure adjacent to the chicken yard and would put him outside daily. Everyone could see but not touch. We integrated him eventually & he was able to stay outside, but he'd bonded with me. (And I made no secret that I was his person, either, though I loved on & respected EVERYONE. He was my chicken, that's for sure!)

Oh how I loved that guy! Taught him to sit on my shoulder, climb steps, how to find food, ahhh. I'd be in the chicken yard with my pitchfork often, turning the dirt & getting rid of the chicken bombs. When he'd had enough & thought that it was time to cuddle, he'd wait until I was bent over, jump up on my back & plop down, refusing to move. It must've been a sight for anyone passing...as I frequently had to maneuver him by pulling my shirt up, lol. (And I tried the 'Ok, well I will just stand up & teach you'. After scaring the b'jeezus outta him and him clawing for purchase...on my back...I chose another way!)

They are why I love roosters, those two dear boys. And why, if ever we win the lottery, I want to have a huge bachelor colony. There will be room for the previously unwanted roos from far & wide. It will be a retirement home for boys to match the old age home for hens that we run now!

What sweet stories about your precious boys! A bachelor colony sounds like it's in your future since you are already the rooster whisperer!

 

[micstrachan]

Affectionate chickens are the BEST!!!

 

[Miks]

I’m so delighted by all of your responses! Thank you so very much for sharing each of your precious stories and experiences for all of us to enjoy and learn from!

I think I will go outside now, in the cold, and sit with my precious girls! I will take them some special treats for being such special girls!

I am grateful for BackyardChickens for providing a forum to learn and grow from and to simply fill the heart with warmth over so many awesome stories!

 

[ladyhand]

I know this is an old thread but I’m so jealous of you all! I’ve been hands on since birth and only one of my ladies may allow me to pet her for like one minute. Maybe as a teenager they’re just too cool for me

 

[BarredRockMom]

I know this is an old thread but I’m so jealous of you all! I’ve been hands on since birth and only one of my ladies may allow me to pet her for like one minute. Maybe as a teenager they’re just too cool for me

You never know if they will come around or what will click in their brains to make them ok with cuddles, or at least tolerant of being petted.

While I've usually had 1 or 2 cuddle bugs, I've had times when those dearies have passed away, too. Sometimes, someone else, usually someone quite unexpected, will step in & fill that cuddle void. That's quite magical actually & I've had that happen several times & with several flocks.

My latest flock have been with us for around 4-5 years & my cuddle bug days, while cherished, are fond memories. My girls are fantastic, responsive, will eat from our hands & tolerate inspections of their little selves, but they will not cuddle. They don't like it so I don't force it.

I simply enjoy that they like being around us & when we're all hunting bugs together, they'll come get a bug when we call them. Mostly!

Don't worry if you have a flock of non-cuddlers. Maybe one day, you'll find yourself looking at someone who can't wait to fly up onto your lap & be petted. You never know what can happen with such remarkable creatures!

 

[ladyhand]

You never know if they will come around or what will click in their brains to make them ok with cuddles, or at least tolerant of being petted.

In your experience were they chiefly from day one, or did it come as they got older?

 

[Salixx]

In your experience were they chiefly from day one, or did it come as they got older?

I’m not who you asked but I have three 9ish week old black silkies from TSC. From day one of having them (couple days to a week or so old) they were terrified of me. Absolutely, completely terrified.

A week and a half ago, shortly after moving them to the coop, a lightbulb went off. None of them are terrified of me and one has become my Velcro chicken. I am pretty sure it’s a cockerel and he is so sweet that he has me performing chicken algebra on how I can keep him. He doesn’t like to snuggle but he tolerates pets and would much rather follow me around than hang out with the flock. It’s adorable

I need/want to keep two standard Roos (1 Phoenix and 1 Wyandotte) but I can’t imagine not having this little guy!