Chicken tails

[UnbakedPegga]

I have three Orpington hens and these chickens are not being warm and fuzzy. True they are having a hard molt but their unfriendliness is getting on my nerves. I have always had orpingtons and they have always been so sweet, but boy they aren't now. I lost the sweet alpha hen in September and there is still no leader for the 3 left. I would think they would have sorted this out by now. They either lay up at the end of the yard where I have compost or sometimes they won't come out of the coop. Such strange behavior. The oldest Lilac is 3 or 4 and she is getting blind as a bat. I got the last 2 hens a year ago last May and they are as wild as cranes. I have never seen anything like it. And skittish?? They just won't warm up to me. I have always talked baby talk to them and talk to them constantly when I am around them. I even sing to them. I give them good quality feed, I change their water every day and clean their coop every day. But whenever I get the least bit close they flap their wings and run! These chickens are my surrogate family and I miss my other two hens that were so, so friendly very bad. They have even made the older hen as wary as they are. She was alway a little timid but wouldn't run from me. Now she bats her wings and runs away just like them. They are not eating well (but they do free range) and I have noticed when I clean the coop, for the last few days that one (or more) have pretty bad diarrhea. They were wormed and treated for lice last month. I scrubbed the coop down and saturated it with Oxine. I put pre and probiotics in their water every other day. I will definitely get 2 or 3 more chickens in the spring. I bought the others as juveniles and I have wondered if that is why they act the way they do. Maybe a chick would " bond" with me better. I am a little hesitant to do that because for one thing I have never had a chick and would think they would be more fragile to being injured or stressed from shipping.plus I would think they are more susceptible to disease. I read about that at the US Dept of Agriculture. What is a woman to do? Oh they were to the vet last month and I absolutely can't afford that anymore. So here I am, wanting to enjoy my girls and all I have is hostile chickens

 

[Zoomie]

Well, for good or bad... chickens are not famous for being snuggle bunnies. Some of them are, sure, but as a general rule, chickens (being prey animals) are wary about other species including us. That's smart of them because boy, do humans ever eat a lot of chicken!

Raising chicks yourself can help to make them tamer. It takes a lot of time but hand raised chicks can turn out to be pretty tame. I do think it depends on the personality of the individual bird although of course some breeds are more known for tame pets than others. I once had a Svart Hona hen that was very tame and friendly with me, whereas the others are pretty wary and quick to run. I think for the most part that's pretty normal because as I said, they are a prey animal.

I think it's one of the reasons that dogs and cats can be so tame and friendly - they are predators. They don't have to constantly fear for their lives. They can afford to snuggle and hug with their owners.

I'm sorry your chickens are letting you down here, but try and see it from their side: being wary and careful helps the chicken to live a longer life. Just try and be understanding.

 

[aart]

I don't think your chickens are 'letting you down',
more like your expectations are somewhat unreasonable.

Molting birds do not want to be touched, new feathers growing in are uncomfortable and take up a lot of energy. A molting bird will often isolate from the flock.

Did the worming take care of the diarrhea?
What and how exactly are you feeding.
Some pro and pre biotics may help, but maybe just once a week instead of daily.
Not sure that extra is even really needed or is effective as it's usually in feed anyway, if you read the labels carefully.

 

[rebrascora]

As has been stated, moulting chickens do not want to be handled, so that will be adding to their anxious behaviour. My chickens are just coming through a hard moult and for the first time they have been penned throughout. I have been shocked and concerned at how little of their feed they have been eating although they have been demolishing bunches of spinach every day. They also have had very runny/liquid poops, which I pit down to the amount of greens in their diet and not enough proper food. I ended up giving them more mixed corn than I would like to try to get some calories into them as they were getting very light weight and changed to a grower, but still they were not interested. The one thing they would devour with gusto was meat, so I would suggest you treat them to a bit of meat/fish/insect protein or eggs. Some cat food once or twice a week helps a lot too. Treat them to a bit of raw liver etc.
Thankfully mine are now back to eating their layer feed and the runny poops have mostly dried up, without any medicinal intervention. Hopefully yours will too.

 

[Mrs. K]

Stop singing and making noise. Take a cup of coffee down, and sit on a chair, put the feed bowl about 3-4 feet away from you, just a little closer than they want to be. Just sit there quietly with little movement. Do this a couple times a week. Do not try and touch them, but rather just be quiet and still. Each time move the food bowl or treat a little closer to you.

Days you can't sit, still move a bit slowly, talk very quietly and do not pressure them by reaching out to them.

They will calm down, and they will get much more comfortable with you. Do not approach them, instead let them approach you on their terms. Eventually they will sit in your lap.

Mrs K

 

[chickens really]

Are these all older Birds?...I'm confused...You say good feed but what exactly do they get fed?....

 

[Wolfgang B.]

Stop singing and making noise. Take a cup of coffee down, and sit on a chair, put the feed bowl about 3-4 feet away from you, just a little closer than they want to be. Just sit there quietly with little movement. Do this a couple times a week. Do not try and touch them, but rather just be quiet and still. Each time move the food bowl or treat a little closer to you.

Days you can't sit, still move a bit slowly, talk very quietly and do not pressure them by reaching out to them.

They will calm down, and they will get much more comfortable with you. Do not approach them, instead let them approach you on their terms. Eventually they will sit in your lap.

Mrs K

That's similar to what I did and one of the more skittish ones ended up jumping on my lap over and over again checking out my face close up.