On April 16th I picked up 8 day old Ameraucanas "outs" from a local breeder. These are true Ameraucanas but were declared "outs" by only having half a muff or an off color or other oddities. The first day we brought them home they were great and didn't seem to mind people. They are now 8 days old and are completely terrified of us! They are set up in a brooder in our office and every time we come in to use the office they totally freak out, run to the corner of their brooder and chirp like I'm coming for fresh chicken wings. We unfortunately did not see the write up here on BYC about socialization and had already picked them up and handled them a few times. Once we found the instructions posted here we stopped picking them up and tried just placing a hand in the brooder. They all still just huddle together in the corner and fall asleep trying to stay far away from us. I tried getting them to eat out of my hand. Only about two have been brave enough to peck at the chic feed but are still far from excited to interact with us. I really want to avoid having mean or timid chickens. Are there any other tips or tricks I can use to get them used to us and maybe even happy to interact with us? I've spent hours crouched over the brooder with a hand full of feed in the brooder and still they seem terrified of my presence.
