do chickens get more skittish with age?

[NewFlockOnTheBlock]

I'm wondering if chickens always get more skittish as they mature into adult birds, or if it's possible for them to remain as tame as they tend to be as babies. A friend of mine handled his chicks a lot when they were young; they climbed all over him, etc. However, now as full-grown hens they prefer to keep their distance. Most will willingly eat treats out of hand but shy away from being petted or picked up. We have had our chicks for 3-4 weeks now and they love to climb all over us and generally don't mind being picked up; in fact, they can be downright snuggly. We're hoping that if we continue handling them and spending lots of time with them as they mature, they will stay just as friendly and social, but I don't know if this is fully within our control. Thoughts? Thanks!

 

[rosemarythyme]

They're generally easy to handle as chicks, become more wary and skittish as teens, and then once they hit point of lay tend to calm back down. Of course each individual bird will be different, some birds are going to be more tolerant of handling overall, and some won't ever really like it at all.

 

[peckpeckpeck]

Congrats on your babies!
Mine definitely went through a skittish phase for maybe 2 months as they were going through their teenage phase.

But now that they're laying / getting close to laying, they're warming up again. Especially with the squatting, it's a lot easier to pick em up again. Helps to have sunflower seeds in my pocket all the time to treat them when they are friendly.
Just be careful what you wish for! The girls are a LOT heavier now when they hop on my arm than they were as chicks!! And their toenails are a lot longer & sharper.
My coworkers make fun of my chicken scratch legs whenever I come in after a day of the chickens climbing all over my lap!

 

[NewFlockOnTheBlock]

Oh cool! Good to know that they will come around again eventually. I'm a little wary of the skittish teenage phase... Our chicks are already able to run very fast and can be hard to catch when it's time to bring them back indoors after a few hours out in the yard. Hopefully soon they will be in their chicken coop, which comes with an attached fenced-in enclosure, and we won't have to chase after them as much. Meanwhile, I'm having some success luring them into my hands with treats... Normally they will come to us and hop on our hands or allow us to pick them up easily, no treats needed, but they love playing outside and hate to have to come back indoors, so that's a tricky time every day.