Are your chickens tame????

[emvickrey]

I have a few tame ones. Most of then will run like crazy but a few will come to me to be petted. My white Silkie roo is so tame he is actully afraid of the other chickens. He runs to me for help if they get near him. I have him in a pen with his own girlfriend. My EE hen used to come to me to be picked up and petted until she went through her first molt. Now she is like the rest. IF she is on the nesting shelf or anywhere besides the ground I can pet her but otherwise she runs too. My 2 American Onagadori would let me pet them until I let tem startfree ranging with the rest. Now they don't want touched. The roo not as much as the hen. I have a bearded silkie that when I got him he was terrified of everytihing. Now I can pet him and pick him up. but he doesn't come to me. When those that aren't in pens see me they crowd around because I am the one that brings the treats. IF they are out free ranging and don't see me I can call them with a clicking sound and they come running. My PR will jump up to take fod from my hand but I think she is part goat because she will eat anything and eats like there is no tomorrow.

 

[Thortherooster]

yes, mine are tame...

 

[chickengrandma]

We have tamed them by handling them CONSTANTLY...and I do mean constantly. And, treats work, of course!

We have discovered that a couple of ours LOVE (and some just like) a belly massage! As they sit on your lap or on their roost, just stick your hand under their warm bellies and rub. We have a couple that fluff up into a big ball and some that purr. Of course, they really only like this at night when it is bed time and they are settled in for the night.

Basically, we didn't give them a chance to not be handled...that helped a lot. We have a couple that squawk and fuss and flap when we grab them, but then settle into our laps/arms once they realize they aren't going anywhere. WE are the top of the pecking order and WE tell them what to do!

(although - we have bantams in an enclosed run...so, I'm sure it is a lot different than full-size chickens that free range)

 

[kota1369]

I have 4 city chickens that are quite friendly. One of them is so friendly you can pick her up and set her on your lap and give her little soft scratches under her wings. She doesnt mind back rubs either. She is friendly like a dog. She is influencing the others and they are now allowing me to touch them and pick them up easier. Two of them
would follow me in the house if I let them. My chickens also could care less about the dogs, which I have 4. The dogs have never been allowed to target the chickens and I have 2 cocker spaniels I can leave in the yard loose with them to keep an eye out for cats or stray dogs. They are my chicken sitters. I can not give my dogs a bone out in the
yard while watching chickens because my chickens try to take the bones from the dogs. It is a riot to watch. I end up running out there to protect a dog from getting his eyes pecked out. I have found that EE and RIR can be quite friendly.

The lady with the 4 dogs and 4 chickens

 

[Tala]

Mine were friendly enough as chicks, then they went through this "independent" teenage stage......
They were kept in the chicken tractor and didn't get a whole lot of interaction with me after they got too big to sit with them, which might explain it too.

After they got to range the yard, they figured out that I have treats. They are fairly tame now. Both of the reds can be walked up to and picked up, the Leghorns are harder to catch/hold, but they come right up and get underfoot all the time -- which is a MAJOR improvement from when they were "untamed" Now I have to be careful not to step on those long toes!!

 

[team guava pastry]

we have 4 chochins, 2 buffs and 2 partridges. Treat always help ours will let you pick them up. they are not to crazy about it.

When they squat in front of me I'll reach down and pick them up just to check them out.

I'm going to change their names is PIGENS. What little piggies, they ate a average size bowl of warm rice this afternoon, like they haven't eaten in weeks.

Total pigs!!!!!!!!

 

[fancbrd4me02]

I have birds that are really friendly, and I have some that are not. They all are pretty comfortable with me, but most don't want to be handled too much. The friendliest one I have is a Buff Orpington hen. I have to keep my eye on her when I am working in the chickenyard, because if I am stooped over and not looking, she will fly onto my back, head or shoulder. Once there, this fat girl tries to perch like a parrot on my shoulder. Once she's there, she will stay there while I walk around. We never did this with her, this is all her idea. She really has wom my husband's heart, and he named her Henrietta. I have a d'Uccle that yells until she is fed.....and then she comes back and yells some more...and more....and she also will let us pick her up and carry her around. My speckled sussex is really friendly, but I don't know much about her because someone tossed her into our yard (abandoned) a couple of years ago.

 

[chicknmania]

Yes, it makes a difference. Someone we know wanted some of our eggs to hatch in an incubator; her kids were doing it for a school project. When the babies hatched, of course the kids spent a LOT of time handling and playing with the chicks. We took two back and those two, a hen and a roo, are among the tamest in our flock. Especially the roo, Doodle; he loves to climb to a shoulder or arm, any chance he gets, and he will follow us around and "talk" til someone pets him or picks him up. Some breeds tame up and are easier to handle more than others, but I really think interaction with them helps.

 

[chicknmania]

And, oh, I forgot! We also bought 8 Red Star chicks last spring, and my kids spent the spring and summer playing with them. They grew up to be very tame, and still are. Though they're not dying to be handled, they allow us to pick them up or stand there when we pet them.

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

18 chickens, all are tame.

It took a while to get it that way, though. Some of mine were skittish for a while but eventually they abandoned that part of them.