egg production & friendliness

[feather13]

Tried to search for this topic in an already-established thread and couldn't find it, so am hoping this topic hasn't already been covered extensively!

We have five chickens: a Dominique, a Faverolle, a Bantam Modern Game (?), a Welsummer, and a Speckled Sussex. I have no idea how old they are, but am guessing between two and three months. Although none of them is aggressive, they aren't particularly friendly either (they weren't baby chicks when we got them). They are really hard to catch and don't like being held. They haven't started laying eggs yet, but is it possible that when they do they'll be more friendly? Their personalities aren't really a problem (although the kids would like friendlier birds), but it would be more fun if they liked to be held more often.

Thanks for your time! I've been finding this forum really helpful.

 

[ChickensRDinos]

I have found that hens do tend to be a little less skittish once they start laying but it is not a super dramatic change.

You can work with them to be more tame. With the birds that I got as pullets rather than chicks, I will get a bowl of mealworms and sit down in the yard a ways away from them and start tossing the mealworms to them. Sit low and be still and quiet. I gradually start to toss the mealworms just a little closer to me so they have to start walking towards me to get them.

Try to be patience and aware of their tolerance level. If they get too wary then stop for the day. I would do this for about an hour a day in the evening and in a about a week they were eating out of my hand and climbing into my lap to get treats. Some birds will be more sweet than others but you can get most of them to be tame.