Do "lap chickens" really exist?

[CuteClucks]

I hear/see this term thrown around fairly frequently, and it makes me curious. How many (if any) of you have or know a chicken that genuinely will come sit/lay in your lap just because they enjoy it? Not for food, to peck at jewelry, etc. but simply because it enjoys lap-sitting?

Thanks for any input!

 

[mimsy]

I have a 4 year old bantam wynadotte who doesn't want pets, but she wants to sit in my lap and sleep. My two Polish when they have been ill in the past and stay in the house, if I let them out of hte cage, they will seek me out to come sit next to me, but they don't want to be ON my lap.

Currently I have a bunch of 8 week olds who have been raised with a turkey who loves to get pets and sit in laps and I think those chicks are learning from him and they will all pile on for pets and naps.

 

[Scooter&Suzie]

I once had the dearest Old English / Dutch cross bantam rooster. His siblings were killed by a predator, and he was all that was left (although they *all* were sweet) so I had just him for a couple weeks. He would flutter around the yard following me, never ran away when I went to pick him up, and would perch on my arm until I took him off. I never thought to put him on my lap (he was so tiny!), but I'm very sure he would have stayed right there. I once even put him on my scooter handle (oh my gosh, I used to scooter around, that was about 4 years ago, it feels so long ago xD) and he stayed on except until it started to get too bumpy. I don't blame him. Oh and yes, his name was Scooter.

Now he, and his siblings were special. I'm pretty sure they must have been pretty cold as chicks, because more often than not I was holding them. I held them as I did school (oh, the perks of homeschool!), and in all my free time I would go in the bathroom and shut the door to keep out the other pets and hold them and perch them on my fingers and arms. I would also sit for hours with them as I played games on my laptop. When it was warm outside I'd go read a book, lying on my stomach in the sun with them, and they'd romp around and then come back to me. Once I had a silkie who had chicks and I realized their actions were similar to my chicks. I suppose mine imprinted on me pretty well.

Oh gosh that was a long post down memory lane, so sorry. But basically, yes, lap chickens can be a thing, but the more you handle them the higher your chance is. I also coaxed a silkie to sit on my lap. Catching her was hard, but once I had her, she'd actually sit on my lap. Go figure. All my other chickens prefered perching on my arm, shoulder, or back. And no, that last one wasn't very comfortable!

 

[audy5000g]

My kids had a bluecochin who would ride around on their shoulders. So sweet.

 

[msazeeta]

Yes they exist. I have 3! A white leghorn and my 2 easter eggers like to be held. My other two never have. I also had a banty with crossbeak that would follow me around and jump on my lap any time I sat down,while the others wouldn't even let me pick them up! I think it has to do with breed, personality, and "training". Chickens can imprint on you and grow to trust you if you handle them frequently from a very young age. A trick I used with my Easter eggers was that I fed them mealworms at about 3 weeks. Then they would expect a treat when I would visit them and I started having them eat the mealworms from my hand. Once they associated my hand with reward they were no longer afraid of it. My chicks went from the most timid I have ever had to the most friendly. They now love to be held and pet.

 

[azygous]

Lap chickens get better with aging. Out of twenty chickens in my flock, only two of those under three years are hogs for affection, while the five, six, seven-year olds and one eight-year old are pretty "lappy"

Yesterday, I was lying in my meadow watching my chickens free-range when a couple came over to me and tucked themselves in against my body for some cuddling. When it's their idea to come cuddle, you know you have a lap chicken.

 

[msazeeta]

These are my easter eggers that love to be pet. They jump up on my lap for cuddles. Sometimes they fly up on my shoulders but I think they're getting too big for that.

 

[BunnynChicks]

Here is my chick Skylar who will climb all over me until she gets to my shoulder and then she will just sit there. She is such a sweetie.

 

[MammaHen16]

...

I hear/see this term thrown around fairly frequently, and it makes me curious. How many (if any) of you have or know a chicken that genuinely will come sit/lay in your lap just because they enjoy it? Not for food, to peck at jewelry, etc. but simply because it enjoys lap-sitting?

Thanks for any input!
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[MammaHen16]

I have 16 hens, all different kinds of breeds. And all of my chickens are like "lap chickens". But some enjoy it more then others. Some will sit in my lap for hours if they could. And some only like being held for a few minutes.