does anybody have tips for taming chickens?

[DouglasPeeps]

Quote:
hehe... I was typing at the same time. Must be a chicken owner thing!

 

[BayCityBabe]

Treats will bring them to you. Mine like any food, even greens & pockmarked salad from the garden.
However, my hamburgs WILL NOT be handled. They will eat from my hand, but even my 16 yr. old track teamer cannot catch them. Mind you, I have 28 9 week olds- so many breeds - and my gorgeous SS Hamburgs are among the few wary individuals who hate to be touched. Might be the breed. RIRs, I dunno, heard they are sweet. I have EEs, Austrolorps and a Turken that are competitive little lap chicks(!) Good thing that I am a big enough woman to handle 3 or 4 lap chicks at a time.
But just keep faith & hang in there (in the coop, I mean). I hang out at least an hour a day & DD does the same.

 

[holliewould]

I have the 2 RIR's about 14 weeks or so that I raised from chicks. Friendly as heck. I don't really pester them accept to shoo them off of my yard furniture, chase them out of the shed, and to run up to them like a loon when I see them chomping on my good plants. Still, they are up my butt when I'm outside. I think it's because from day1 they got food from me. If I'm bent down I will give them scratches on the earlobes and top of the head. They really really like that. Anyway, I bet if you get into your yard and start digging up rocks and scratching in the dirt to find bugs for them, they will be right behind you waiting for a bug to become unearthed. Maybe make it a habit to do that everyday? I've always done it for mine. However, mine were outside about a week after hatch so I felt like I should show them how it worked. I can't really be out in the yard without a couple of chickens beside me.

Good luck!

 

[Davaroo]

I wonder if all the 'hanging around' and 'being still' stuff doesnt mold us to them - as opposed to the other way 'round.

Makes you wonder who has the upper hand, don't it?

 

[MooseHillFarm]

My 3 little hand raised Buckeye chicks were so adorable clustering about my feet, whenever I came about. They'd trip me, and I found their eagerness ever so charming.

That is until I suddenly took some nasty pecks on the legs from my teen-age babies. Apparently I'd let them get a little too close and confident with me. The second time I let fly with the book I was reading Savannah Blues) and now don't even let them close enough to peck.

 

[LittleChickenRacingTeam]

I've always used sunflower seeds or grapes to train mine.

 

[michigan chick]

Mine are three weeks old now and don't eat out of my hand but they are always right with me. I first let them out only in a make shift pet yard. They have been free to roam for the second time today. I just sit in the grass and watch them. I bring some scratch out with me but they are more interested in me then the scratch.

 

[tiki244]

I think as they get older they will get better, I notice my little ones are more skittish than the older ones. Except for the 2 RIR bantams and that is because I spent so much time with them right after they were hatched that they imprinted on me somewhat.

 

[Davaroo]

Think maybe we need to define "trained."
Ive seen them doing tricks, juming up and down, pecking at a picture to get a bit of food, etc. But that is learned response to stimuli (food).
That's not really trained, per se.

If you just mean when will they settle down and "like" you, well, just keep hanging around and being still. They'll warm up in time.

 

[Yanna]

My chicks are all between 3 and 4 weeks old ("I'm a first-time caller and a long-time fan.") and hate being picked up; the rooster seems to accept me, though.

I started by offering the flat of my hand to steady him during his early landing practices. He now runs up my arm to my shoulder (oh, how I love having chicken poop on my shirt - oy!) and since HE does it, the others now think "Gee, if HE'S doing it, it MUST be cool!" and up they run, right behind him (oh great - MORE poo!).

There's no hurry - I figure it's more a matter of getting used to each other than of persuading them to like me.

I call my daughter The Chicken Whisperer, though - they really DO like her.

Best wishes in your chicken taming adventures. May your favorite shirt never know the wretchedness of being pooed upon.