At what age do Silkies become friendly? Mine think I stink!

[cluck shmucks]

I have a blue silkie that is just about two months old, and a white one that is about 5 or 6 weeks. Neither one is interested in even coming near me. I have held the blue from the day I got "her"(fingers crossed) at 5 days old, and she was so sweet and cuddly the first couple of days. After she settled in she gradually became more and more standoffish and eventually skittish for a little while! She has calmed down a bit now, but still has no interest in being around me, will trot away if she thinks I'm going to pick her up, and squeaks a lot when I hold her, searching for a way back to the flock.

The white one, I got a week ago, and "he" is a little fart. He is pretty skittish (though, being the tiniest one of the flock, I don't blame him), and he throws a FIT when I hold him. I backed off from holdling him because it seemed so distressing for him, but i don't want him to remain so "wild".

Is this normal for younger chicks? Will they grow out of it?

We have 8 chicks total; 5 that we got two months ago, including the first silkie, and 3 that we got about 10 days ago, including the white silkie. My brahmas are friendly; Dark brahma is my sidekick, she flies up onto my arm or shoulder the minute i walk in, my bantie amerecauna roo is the same, and he will race to follow us around outside--he has been supervising the building of the coop, and we can't go anywhere without him. The others are so-so, light brahma will sit on us if we pick her up, though she doesn't come to us seeking attention, she won't leave our hand willingly once we hold her (goofy chicken), and I guess the most beautiful of all buff brahma is a bit scaredy-cat, perhaps feeding this behavior to the silkies?

The 7 week old maran (came to us last week) is nervous too, but she is the FIRST to the food and water, and will brush right up against our hands to get to it. She has even flown up to sit on the ledge and see me once, though I'm sure it was in search of food or something. And the 2 month old Amerecauna (again, last week) has been very timid around the other chickens (even the bantie, who is half her size!), and though she doesn't like to be "chased" by the hands, she will sit on our arm, and she will also fly up to see us and sit next to us with the dark brahma.

I realize they all have different personalities, that is inherent. However, I am curious why my silkies are so unfriendly? I got them because they were supposed to be so sweet and friendly, above and beyond the others, but so far, no go! Will this change over time? Or did I just end up with two non-social butterflies? Any suggestions? Thanks!

 

[CheekyChooks]

My silkies never really took to me and were very flighty and nervous ... we didn't really bond as I expected. At 18 weeks it didn't get any better and I gave the girls away with the roos except one silkie/light sussex hybrid who has a spunky personality and seemed braver that the rest.

That said, my BO hated me from being days old and then at around 16 weeks old just changed dramatically into a human seeking misile who follows me everywhere and even lets me pick her up for short periods ... though she is verrryyyy heavy bless her. So you never can tell ... she seemed to hate me for weeks/months and the suddenly woke up and realised that I'm the one with the bread, the corn and the grapes and therefore is worthy of her attention.

I guess you just need to give them time and they will finally see you as the most exiting thing in their daily lives as you bring food and company etc ...

I know silkies are supposed to be one of the friendliest chickens, but I never really got that from mine. That's not to say they won't be like that with you.

 

[cat1994]

I have 5 lil Silkies that haven’t started laying yet and they aren’t all that tame either. If I am in their pen sitting down for a while they will come up to me and pick at my feet, and a few will take some treats from my hand, but over all I can tell that they would rather me not bother them at all. I try and spend time with them and feed them treats so they become tamer, when I pick them up two try and get away but the rest sit in my arms nicely, I never really expected them to be my pets so I didn’t hold them all that much when they were babies, but I must say they are tame enough for me

 

[cluck shmucks]

Well, lol, I don't really acquire any animal that isn't going to be a "pet" (ETA: I primp and pamper them, spend lots of money and time on them, give them the best care and life I know how, and will keep them for a lifetime barring extreme unforseen circumstance. And in "exchange", I hope that they will be friendly and I will "bond" with them. Basically, I am their slave. LOL! Simply put: I won't eat them)--other than my recently contemplating some meat birds, but still not sure about that. I got my chickens as pets , and I chose chickens as pets, well, for the eggs. I don't really have any other use for them, I have horses and dogs that serve plenty of entertainment and take up enough of my time! I thought chickens would be fun, but only went ahead because I would get something "material" in return. The silkies? Purely for entertainment. They're not going to give me anything significant in the way of eggs! It was hard to talk my boyfriend into the goofballs because of that, and because he thinks they're goofy looking and will just take up more space and cost extra money to feed. So, I really

REALLY hope they grow out of this shyness. I'm really confused as to where they get their reputation if, as it sounds so far, they really are not all that friendly and social.

Trying not to feel so disappointed...