Do My Chicks Hate Me?

[LovinChicknFarmn]

Mine do the same thing. Mama is sweet and will come right up and take food out of my fingers, but the babies are still wary. They "yell" whenever we try to pick one up. They're 7 weeks old this week (not really babies anymore!) and they're still jumpy with people. I just keep giving them treats and having the big hens take food out of my fingers. They'll figure it out. It's worked with my now big hens. Don't worry. They don't hate you!

 

[mick&cori]

Dried Mealworms work the best. I saw some at my local TSCO (Tractor Supply Company) for $25 for 10 oz!!!

I was disgusted with the price. A few weeks later, I went in and they are now marked $15. I went ahead and bought it.

My 'teenagers' are about 8 weeks old. They don't want to be held, but when I sit down with mealworms (they know when I carry in the container) they will come running to me. They eat from my hands, they sit in my lap, on my shoulders, even my head if I let them. They love the mealworms so much I can't get away from them.

If I'm outside, they are right there, following me around, chirping at me, pecking me, etc. It's adorable.

Food is the key. Just keep trying. The first day I took mealworms in, they didn't really want to come near me. They would come up, grab the worm, and run! Then the others would see that one had something, so they would want it. This took days to work. Don't give up - give food!

 

[LibertyChick]

Do chickens have an "I hate you sound"? Is there a happy sound? How about I don't like the kind of food you give me sound? I hear all kinds of sounds out of them and not sure what they mean.

 

[pixiechick44]

Mine would freek out when I tried to hold them aswell...But then I discovered mealworms.and within a day they were different birds....Now when I go In the run they are all over me jumping on my sholders and wanting my attention....They love a belly rub.....

 

[BlazeJester]

Do mealworms need to be fed with grit? Also, can you get them at the pet store (reptiles) or just at tractor supply? My local farm store has very little in the way of non-necessity chicken supplies (they focus far more on horses, dogs, etc) but I'd love to give the girls some treats. Granted, they liked the scrambled egg yesterday, and those are both plentiful and free...

 

[RedDrgn]

Give them time and a little space. If you keep trying to grab them (or grabbing them) and holding them while they're freaking out, they will start associating you with "that thing that chases and restrains us" rather than something much more amicable. So give them time and maybe start from the beginning when it comes to handling them - for example, hang around them, but don't go after them. Let them do their own thing with you in their midst so that they don't see you as a threat. Feed them from your hand regularly and don't try to grab them.

One of the kickers with our chicks was the day I was feeding them from my palm and one of them hopped on my wrist to get a better angle. By the next day, they'd all do it (or stand on my hand and eat between their own toes XD). Then I could raise them up and transfer them to my other hand or to my husband with no trouble. Now, they'll hope into a proffered palm most of the time and we can scoop up any of them from the bottom without trouble. Only two of them will actually permit being picked up from the top down (over their backs), so that's another thing to consider when handling them.

Just be patient and gentle with them and they'll come around.

 

[Da chicken farm]

I really dont know. The chickens i order are always good, i know that only a select few fear me, but those i got from my aunts brother in law. Some chickens just love human contact and others dont. One of my hens, Sammy loves to follow humans anywhere, like a dog. Of course she was an oddball as a baby. I really dont know, but good luck with those babies.

 

[mick&cori]

Quote:
I don't feed mine with grit. I bought the Happy Hen Treats - Mealworm Frenzy. They are dried Mealworms. I saw that they can be ordered online. This is just a suggestion. I'm guessing there are other places or brands that would work.

http://www.google.com/products/cata...=X&ei=8Js5TqHoAerTiALM9qTFDg&ved=0CCMQ8wIwBA#

 

[GardenState38]

I have to agree with the dried mealworms (Which can also be purchased on amazon.com). Offer those and they'll come running to you, to peck them out of your fingers!

My bantam Easter Egger quickly learned that she could get all the mealworms her heart desired (within reason) if she jumped up into the palm of my hand!
The first time she did this, I reinforced it by giving her another mealworm--she caught on quickly!
Now, everytime I approach the brooder, she has a special, loud and clear "PEEP" for me, telling me she's hungry for worms! I can't reach in for anything without her jumping onto my arm!
I know she's just motivated by food, not affection, but she really has won my heart, anyhow. She is, by far, my favorite!

The others (standard-sized Marans, Wyandotte and Faverolle) are more wary, by varying degrees, but just yesterday, the Wyandotte also jumped up into my hand. I'm hoping that eventually, all of them will "warm up". Even the scaredy-cat Faverolle, who would run and hide under the EcoGlow when I'd be around, has begun to approach me.

I keep both chick grit and sand in the brooder, so I know they're getting enough grit to "process" the worms.

 

[BrownSheep]

My chicks, from a rather large batch of thirty, never really warmed up to me. They are comforatable around me now but don't really want touched. They go NUTS for me, how ever, when I give them apples.