Are All Chickens Friendly and Affectionate?

[Snakeoil]

To make my answer short, NO.

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

We have nine 4 month old hens that we bought when they were about 2 weeks old & two that were about 4 weeks old. They will all come up to us to for treats, but not all like to be held or petted.
They're not afraid of us and will walk or sit next to us when we're in the coop with them, but still may run when we reach our hands out towards them because they don't want to be picked up.

2 barred rocks - the first to come for treats and the last to leave - they will come running when they see you and one of them will sometimes hop up into my lap and stay awhile when I sit down (even if I don't have any treats). They will squawk when picked up, although they are very easy to catch.

1 production red - easy to pick up because she never runs away, but doesn't really appreciate being held

3 Easter Eggers - very calm and quiet when picked up and will sit still to be petted - they never jump into our laps on their own though - they are getting calmer and calmer the older they get and we consider them the sweetest of the bunch

3 leghorns - skittish and hard to catch - super fast runners, but will eat from our hands and occasionally hop up into your lap - just don't try to pet them or they will jump right back out

2 barnevelders (4 weeks of age when purchased) - skittish and don't like to be held, but easier to catch then the leghorns

We also have 5 black sexlinks that we purchased as 1 month old and they are the tamest and calmest chickens yet. They are 2 months old and will come to me and let me pick them right up. I had to work with them a little more because they were freaked out & skittish when we first bought them, but I can already tell they will be some of the friendliest.

 

[chickensducks&agoose]

We raised Super Chicken (a golden comet) from day 2 or 3, with LOTS of handling (with 3 kids), and she likes us... the other chickens we got when they were 4 weeks, and they tolerate me, but would rather not be handled.. they tend to eat out of my hand with a higher incidence of OW, than Super Chicken. I also got 4 adult hens last summer, and three of them REALLY don't like me, while one likes me okay... One of the evil 3 is named Auntie Shannah, after my husbands sister, and she is terrible.. if I look at her, she runs, and if I have to move her, or if I go into the coop with her inside, she totally freaks out, with noise and flapping... silly birds!!!

 

[lovemychix]

My buttercups are the most affectionate and then my Cochins. Polish sometimes: They are crazy. Hamburgs not at all!

 

[BellLisamo]

Quote:
Hahaa yeah i agree. My barred cochin rooster is a doll, until you try to handle his female... haha.
But then theres my Polish hen that runs as fast as a roadrunner and is very very hard to catch! But she doesnt fight when i hold her.
I just got a new polish rooster, thats getting to know me. but i heard he rode on my brother in laws lap on the way here!! haah

 

[Buzzy]

Oh I envy you. I've got 3 Wyandottes bought when 3 weeks old who still run away whenever I'm around, even though I've been feeding them scratch every day for two years! Just got a young Dorking pullet who runs to me but hates being touched, and young roo who came with her, dark Brahma, never attacks but runs away if I step toward him.

Makes me miss my Betsy Cluck, a white leghorn who ran to sit on my lap every time I sat on the garden bench, and who would just fly up to sit on my shoulder as I walked around. She rode around with me like a parrot!

I think she was a kindergarten chick. I got her as a rescue. Adored that bird. Poor dear Betsy was lost in the great weasel attack, when they breached the coop. Villains.

 

[msgenie516]

Hi,

I find it depends on the breed and the individual chicken. My Leghorns and RIR's are all over me, jumping up, sitting on me, etc. But I've always wondered, are they affectionate or just courageous and looking for goodies? Whatever the reason, they are a lot of fun when they're not scared! Genie
Quote:
LOL, I have one of those "Roadrunner" Polish hens, also. I can't free range where I live and one day she got out of the run on me (because my cat was hot on my heels when I entered it and the Polish panicked)! The cat is not any bigger than the chickens and she has never bothered them.

I was chasing her all over the front lawn before she finally went back into the run. Chickens are not too common around here and I was hoping my neighbors wouldn't be saying to themselves "What is that crazy lady doing chasing around that odd-looking bird?"

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

I've heard that Polish are skittish fowl. I have yet to believe it, though! Patty is a love, and never runs away. I call her and she wattles over, her big afro bouncing around! Not sure what I did to deserve such a good chicken, but I couldn't have really asked for more!

Maybe she's there to replace all of my mean roos!

 

[BellLisamo]

Quote:
LOL, I have one of those "Roadrunner" Polish hens, also. I can't free range where I live and one day she got out of the run on me (because my cat was hot on my heels when I entered it and the Polish panicked)! The cat is not any bigger than the chickens and she has never bothered them.

I was chasing her all over the front lawn before she finally went back into the run. Chickens are not too common around here and I was hoping my neighbors wouldn't be saying to themselves "What is that crazy lady doing chasing around that odd-looking bird?"

'

haha! my lord are they hard to catch. it seriously has to be a breed of road runner. fast little turds, and they fly like crazy, ive gotten smacked in the head many of times by flapping wings. crazy bird. pretty. but crazy.

 

[ChickenToes]

No, no, and no. Especially roosters. My hens are pretty friendly and they're very curious, but one of my EE hens was very skittish, flighty, and annoying. If you even tried to touch her she would scream like you were trying to murder her.