Do "lap chickens" really exist?

[silkiemumma]

my hybrids will fight over who's gets to climb onto me first.
They're desperate to climb up and have a cuddle.
My smallest silkie (bottom of the pecking order) likes to snuggle into my neck, when she wasn't feeling well she came indoors for a night and we had a good snuggle.
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[Agarrard]

Nugget has snuggled with me from day one. I would cover him with a blanket to protect him from the cat but he would always stick his head out onto a pillow. He still likes to lay on the couch(yes couch) with me and has also napped in my lap with the cat. He has always liked the same blanket and snuggles into it on his own. No treats needed. I just tell him, "lay down Nuggy", or "Night Night Nuggy" and he lays right down. Most people wouldn't believe me without seeing it with their own eyes. It's pretty darn cute.

 

[lovemy6hens]

This is an awesome thread!

 

[TwoCrows]

I start them at day one...in the brooder. I lay down an old sheet on the living room floor, gather them all up and sit down right in the middle of the sheet and they naturally all gravitate to my lap for protection! The world is big and scary and you are the only one they CAN trust at this point. Every day I get them out on the floor. It's good entertainment, stimulation, it's a boredom buster and it's a great field trip for their minds and bodies. AND it teaches them that the lap is a very safe place to be. They never forget. Forever more, many of them will beg for your attention and a nice warm lap. (always make sure when getting chicks out on the floor that all danger is locked away in another room.

)

 

[sshalimar16]

Our Emma will.....she will jump right up into our laps, and even borrow underneath a blanket with me and I have the pictures to prove it, though not sure how to post them here???? Lots of pictures of her on her very own Facebook page though: https://www.facebook.com/Emma.the.house.chicken7777/?fref=ts

The other hens will jump up on our laps, but it is totally food orientated......once the snacks disappears, so do they.

 

[Leihamarie]

Has anyone had non-lap chickens that were able to train into lap chickens?

We have 3 girls that were already 5 weeks old when we got them. I don't think they had much human handling as chicks so they were pretty nervous about people. It took a little bit for them to eat treats from my hand. Now they are at the point where they are just starting to chase me down across the yard if they suspect I have treats.

But if I sit down with them and try to get one to be a "lap chicken" they are still too nervous to try that, and they also do not like it if I try to slowly reach out to pet them. They will back away. I don't ever try to pick them up because as early experience showed, they will be scared of me for a few days after that. There hasn't been much need to pick them up. They return to their coop at night no problem and if I need to get them to go somewhere they are easy enough to "herd".

Wondering if they will always be a bit shy or whether they will just need more time? They are about 13 weeks old now.

I can now officially share experience on this topic. I got 3x 6 week olds a couple weeks ago and I was nervous about their sociability with me since they weren't day olds but I can't brood due to an upcoming work trip so they need to be settled and comfy in their coop. I have spent a LOT of time with them over the last couple of weeks, just being around them, talking gently to them, giving treats, etc... NONE of them like to be picked up, handled or petted but I do it gently anyways (lifting them from one place to another, etc...) because I will need to handle them for health and check ups. They don't enjoy it but they're starting to tollerate it.

Earlier in the week when I moved them to the coop, I just crawled in there and hung out with them, lol! For their chicken siesta, they chose to snuggle up next to me and in my Copper Comet's case, on me.



and today, while free-ranging in the compost pile, ALL 3 of them decided my lap was a great place to flap up to when the sun started to set. They are going through their 7-9 week juvenile molt right now so I'm being respectful of how uncomfortable that is and not handling them more than I have to (which is rarely) but they are happy to perch on me now and flapping up to my lap and settling down for a preen or a snooze is becoming the norm. I assume that with enough time and repetition, they may even enjoy being held or petted one day. At the very least, tolerated it without much fuss, cause I will be doing a toe-to-comb check up on them with some regularity.

 

[jheasley]

I have 20 pullets that are 24 days old, 5 Silver Laced Wyandotte, 5 Welsummer, 5 Jersey Giants and 5 Easter Egg. At around 20 days old I had a Easter Egg pullets that was fitting your description and yesterday I had a Silver Laced Wyandotte that is coming around. I hand feed them apple slices once every other day, that's getting them comfortable being around me and getting touched by me periodically. Eventually, if you have a calm spirit they will start seeing you as a protector and provider. I expect the large majority if not all my chickens to enjoy jumping up on my lap for attention. Reading a bird is extremely important. I try and not overly force attention on them.

The friendlier birds close contact with you will help the shy or moderately cautious ones start feeling more comfortable being around you. I've been training dogs professionally since the 80's, training horses as a hobby and personal interests since the early 90's, so having many variations of animals such as parakeets, parrots, ducks, geese, pheasants, quail, chucker, raccoons, ferrets, snakes and yes chickens and various other breeds, you learn to "read animals well".

 

[malberu]

One of my EE's likes to jump up on my shoulders. I've had NH Reds in the past, both hens and roosters that liked to sit on my lap or cuddle next to me.

 

[LisaFD]

My first flock joined me for coffee on the patio every morning.
My experience has been that the chicken chooses whether or not it wants to be a lap chicken.
Of all the breeds I've raised, the Buff Orpingtons are most likely to cuddle.
Some breeds preferred to sit next to me; some always perched beside me.
If you want lap chickens, you need to raise them from day old chicks, so they bond with you.
Pick them up; hold them near your face, and call them by their names, at least a couple times a day.

I am wearing my chicken cuddling jacket. Most of my girls won't cuddle unless I'm wearing that jacket.
I have one Orpington, Ethel, that goes psycho-broody for months at a time. Even at the height of broodiness, Ethel will hop up on my lap and poke her head under my arm (wing?) when she sees the jacket. She only stays a minute or two, and clucks the whole time. When she isn't broody, she'll hop up on my lap, make a little nest and take a snooze.

Several girls are "lap trained" in that they hop down or turn their butts to relieve themselves. They seem to figure it out themselves when they are quite young that the cuddling stops when the pooping begins. Some take a while to figure out the correct butt position, and that I prefer that they poop to one side, and not between my legs.

My current flock (all hens) prefers to join my husband and me on the patio in the evening. They go about their business, and have their little routine, but eventually they all stop to rest near us. They have a little snooze and a preen, then the younger ones hop up for a visit. Sometimes they'll hop up when I say, "Come see mama," but as always, it is their choice.

 

[Leihamarie]

My first flock joined me for coffee on the patio every morning.
My experience has been that the chicken chooses whether or not it wants to be a lap chicken.
Of all the breeds I've raised, the Buff Orpingtons are most likely to cuddle.
Some breeds preferred to sit next to me; some always perched beside me.
If you want lap chickens, you need to raise them from day old chicks, so they bond with you.
Pick them up; hold them near your face, and call them by their names, at least a couple times a day.

I am wearing my chicken cuddling jacket. Most of my girls won't cuddle unless I'm wearing that jacket.
I have one Orpington, Ethel, that goes psycho-broody for months at a time. Even at the height of broodiness, Ethel will hop up on my lap and poke her head under my arm (wing?) when she sees the jacket. She only stays a minute or two, and clucks the whole time. When she isn't broody, she'll hop up on my lap, make a little nest and take a snooze.

Several girls are "lap trained" in that they hop down or turn their butts to relieve themselves. They seem to figure it out themselves when they are quite young that the cuddling stops when the pooping begins. Some take a while to figure out the correct butt position, and that I prefer that they poop to one side, and not between my legs.

My current flock (all hens) prefers to join my husband and me on the patio in the evening. They go about their business, and have their little routine, but eventually they all stop to rest near us. They have a little snooze and a preen, then the younger ones hop up for a visit. Sometimes they'll hop up when I say, "Come see mama," but as always, it is their choice.

awww.... SUCH an adorable picture!!!!!!!!!!!!