do I have to handle them to have nice chickens?

[toredano]

I spend alot of time with my peeps.

I give them treats , talk to them( allthough sometimes I cuss at them when they poop on me )
They are Buff Orptingtons and they are known to be somewhat more tame. The girls ( 3 of them) love ot sit on my lap,shoulders or anywhere else they cna just sqat down and preen themselfs or take a quick nap.
I was afraid they wouldnt become so friendly.But if you spend time with them, they should be ok.
One thing I noticed tho that they dont like to be picked up rally fast.. like swooping them up from underneath. I take a hand.. slide it under they belly really slow and other hand goes on top of the bird to steady it. Not one sound or peep out of them.
I had my chicks now for around 3 weeks and when i open the coop in the morning they run towards me . peeping like mad.

Just takes time and patience.. the more time you spend with them. the more they will like you.

Only one that doesnt like to be picked up is the Roo.. he is a bit flighty yet... but then again he is afraid of his own shadow for some reason.

 

[kidd42]

I'm the one who has taken care of the girls since day one at our house, they are now 13 weeks old.
I feed them and give them treat's on a daily basis. When they see me come thru the gate to the coop area, they all come running towards me and start to make these little chirp/tweet sounds. I am the one they identify with for food and treats. they will gather around me and "talk" to me. But if I try to pick one up to check them over they run out of my reach, but come right back. There is only one who does not protest so much when I pick her up. If my wife or kids come out, they run away from them.

Some people have "tamed" them so to speak. But I'm sure that it is the personality of each individual bird that depends how they interact with humans.

 

[55885100]

well i don't think u need to handle them for them to be nice jut make sher they see you are the one feeding them and they should be nice enough to you

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
This is a good point. They must see you, regularly - they are frightened by strange people. Bringing the neighbors, frantic children, your brother in law or the code enforcement man into the yard at random times only disturbs them needlessly.

I like when Harvey Ussery suggests that many of the problems encountered with chickens are actually the result of mismanagement on the part of the humans involved.

We run the dog past all day, the neighbors cat lingers around too much or we constantly disturb their measured pace by tossing them treats and "being" with them. We so want them to respond like our other pets.

But, after endless hours observing these birds, I'm fairly convinced they like routine peace and quiet more than us. In their world, noise and disturbance equals trouble. If they see you, and mostly you, calmly going about your affairs, feeding and watering and cleaning up after them, this gives them stability. This in turn encourages them to come closer to see what you may have, or what you are up to. In other words, "be nice chickens."

I wonder - how many people that claim to have "mean" chickens aren't guilty of breaking the peace in the henyard?

 

[momofsomj]

Thanks to everyone who responded to this post. I probably should explain a few things.
First, a question : what kind of "treats" do you give your chickens. I give ours the leftover cooked veggies, or lettuce, and strawberries or some oatmeal, but I've never thought of this as treats. Is this "treats"?

Secondly: I am allergic to chickens, was born that way, and not just chickens, but every living animal outside of reptiles and fish. Also, many foods and all the other common allergies one can think of. I have been tested by allergists since I was about 4 years old because I couldn't breathe with asthma attacks much of the time. Sadly I have passed this genetic tendency down to 2 of our 4 children. But it's all good, I learned to deal with it- observe the animals from a distance.

Our oldest child whom we adopted as a two day old baby, was diagnosed with a form of high functioning autism when he was 7. He is almost nine now. He is not allergic to animals, and since chickens require less care (don't anyone get me wrong, we care for our chickens, we LOVE our chickens and spend hours researching how to best take care of them, building a nice coop for them, and letting them roam our fenced backyard with us because that's as close as we can get to them. Chickens seem to be able to handle the cold Utah winters with a heater, lights and a nice coop. And it's one of our least problematic allergies.)

Our oldest loves his chickens, holds them -once in a while, talks to them and can't imagine not having them. But he has to shower after he has been in with them before he can come into the house. It's a little bit of a process (which is why he can't hold them very often, mostly sits in their run and talks to them), but we really do love these chickens and it's worth it all around.