Does anyone "Prune" their flock?

[ShawnaScott]

I'm new to chickens, my first batch of chicks are coming up on 2 months old. My niece (going on 4) really wanted chicks, but my mom (her guardian) wouldn't get any for her. I've always wanted some and she comes to my house a lot, so I figured what the heck, and got some for pets. I don't really care about egg production, though I am excited to have some!

I've handled the chicks every day, for about an hour, and about half are friendly, and another half are standoffish. They're not mean by any standards, but they won't come near me even for treats, and run as far away from me as possible. Since I only want very friendly chickens, would it be wrong to find different homes for the ones that aren't as friendly?

 

[sourland]

I see nothing wrong with finding good homes for the birds that you don't want. Understand that their personalities will very likely change as they mature, and they may very well become more friendly - especially if you allow them to approach on their own terms rather than catching them.

 

[Ceilismom]

It wouldn't be wrong, but it might be premature. Even my most stand-offish chickens will come running when anybody has a treat bucket in hand, but it didn't start out that way. Someone here (I never can remember) mentioned that they had given up on trying to tame their young chickens, because once they started laying, they seemed to settle down and become more friendly. If you wait until they reach laying age, you may find that the more flighty ones settle down. If they don't, they should be worth more as point-of-lay hens than as 2-month-old pullets.

Weighed against that, if you do get rid of the flighty ones now, you might have an easier time integrating the flock if you get new chicks now (if you want to replace them), vs. when the current flock is 6 months old.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

With chickens, you "cull" instead of prune.

Sure, nothing in the slightest wrong with keeping the friendly chickens and selling or giving away the rest. Lots of us cull birds for lots of different reasons. Some are breeders, and cull birds that don't meet the Standard of Perfection for that breed. I breed for egg production, not looks, so I cull poor egg layers and don't worry much about what the good layers look like. I also keep dark Cornish as broody hens, so any Cornish that doesn't go broody within 18 months is culled. Conversely, if I have a hen that I like a lot, but doesn't lay well, I might decide to keep her just because I like her, although I won't hatch her eggs. I have a little Buttercup hen that's lovely but lays poorly right now, but I keep her for my personal amusement.

In short, they're your birds, keep the ones you like! No reason to keep birds you don't like.

As others have said, however, chicken personalities change fairly drastically around the time they start to lay eggs. I don't think it's me that Ceilismom was talking about, but it could be. I long ago gave up on taming chicks. First, it never seemed to work, and secondly, I have enough chicks each year that trying to pet them all was an insane exercise in logistics and took tons of time. I don't interact with my chicks at all any more except to feed and water them, so they are all terrified of me while they're in the pullet pen. About the time they begin to lay eggs (18-22 weeks) they calm right down and are just fine. I can't see any difference between the chicks I used to take lots of time with and the ones I mostly ignore once they're older. None of them are afraid of me, they all come running when they see me, etc.

 

[ShawnaScott]

Thanks guys! I will probably give them a little more time, maybe a month, since they are so close to being "egg laying". I was worried if I gave away the not so friendly ones, and replaced them with friendlier ones people would get up in arms over it. The chicken world is so much different then the dog/cat ones. I run a dog rescue, so I always have plenty of new ones and I take them with me to RK or TSC. People that see me often make really nasty remarks if they think I keep a dog and then get rid of it!

I'm glad chicken people aren't so easily offended!

 

[cary 1973]

Your giving up on then waaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy to soonmy most lovable ones were the most standoffish I had she would act like I was tourture them now the laying on my lap following me around this came about after egg laying started