Friendly Chickens

[kpoo]

We just got our chickens 3 months ago, we feed them little snacks everyday, they see me coming like a hundred feet away or hear me, all gathered at the gate when I get there, you can hardly walk sometimes you can pick one up when there in a bunch, They kind of cluck for awhile and if you talk and stroke there head they tend to like it.

 

[tiny529]

Chickens can be so much fun. My girls are really friendly and let me pick them up. Sometimes they jump into my lap while I'm sitting on my bench. I've got a new batch of chicks and I hope they turn out friendly too. I did straight run but only plan on keeping one roo.

 

[KimKimWilliamso]

That is the sort of relationship i was hoping for when I agreed to get chicks instead of pulletts. However, it has NOT turned out that way for me. Our chicks are scared of all of us, even with food in our hands they will be leary of us. They dont run when we are near, unless we show interest in them, then they take off. We have been been handling them everyday since hatching, so I dont know why they dont like us. Once caught they will settle and allow us to pet them, but they dont want to be touched by us at all if they can avoid it.

 

[tiny529]

That is the sort of relationship i was hoping for when I agreed to get chicks instead of pulletts. However, it has NOT turned out that way for me. Our chicks are scared of all of us, even with food in our hands they will be leary of us. They dont run when we are near, unless we show interest in them, then they take off. We have been been handling them everyday since hatching, so I dont know why they dont like us. Once caught they will settle and allow us to pet them, but they dont want to be touched by us at all if they can avoid it.

How old are they? I found that my hens went through weird scared phase when they were gawky "teenagers". My Buff Orpington was never terribly interactive until the 1st time she went broody. She'd either ignore us or run away from us. Now she's a sweetheart and I can pick her up and carry her around. Sometimes she'll even jump into my lap on her own and preen her feathers.

Another thing I've found is the "giant hand from above" is much more terrifying than if you are more on their level. Sometimes I get in the brooder (now that the new babies are bigger and in a bigger brooder) with them and they will hop onto my knee and sometimes into my hand, as long as I'm not acting like I'm going to grab anyone.

How many babies do you have? It seems like smaller batches yield sweeter babies too. My 1st batch was only 5. 2 were lovers from the start, 2 were indifferent, and 1 was a terrified spaz. As they got older, the 2 lovers stayed nice, though one is a little less interested in loving than she used to be, 1 became a lover, 1 stayed indifferent, and 1 stayed terrified. Now I have 19 babies and only a couple are showing any interest, but I'm not sure that any would if I didn't get in with them.

 

[missinmee11]

How old are they? I found that my hens went through weird scared phase when they were gawky "teenagers". My Buff Orpington was never terribly interactive until the 1st time she went broody. She'd either ignore us or run away from us. Now she's a sweetheart and I can pick her up and carry her around. Sometimes she'll even jump into my lap on her own and preen her feathers.

Another thing I've found is the "giant hand from above" is much more terrifying than if you are more on their level. Sometimes I get in the brooder (now that the new babies are bigger and in a bigger brooder) with them and they will hop onto my knee and sometimes into my hand, as long as I'm not acting like I'm going to grab anyone.

How many babies do you have? It seems like smaller batches yield sweeter babies too. My 1st batch was only 5. 2 were lovers from the start, 2 were indifferent, and 1 was a terrified spaz. As they got older, the 2 lovers stayed nice, though one is a little less interested in loving than she used to be, 1 became a lover, 1 stayed indifferent, and 1 stayed terrified. Now I have 19 babies and only a couple are showing any interest, but I'm not sure that any would if I didn't get in with them.

That's great info, and totally makes sense. This is my first time, and I've just brought 4 up from hatching, but I've been making friends with wild chickens all last year. I think if your able to give a chicken attention, they seem to respond, but some are slow learners. I've also noticed they all seem to be, -chickens.. Sometimes my girls who are 11 weeks, run and huddle in the corner when I first come out in the morning like there terrified of me, and 15 seconds later they're flying into my lap bobbing their head and wagging their tail as they fight each other for a spot in my lap. Between my own 4 girls and the wild neighborhood brood, I'll have an odd collection follow me all over the yard, right at my heels sometimes, 'till I let out a loud sneeze and they all go scattering, clucking, crowing, running and flying in total terror. Like a bunch of chickens.

 

[tiny529]

*laugh* They certainly are "chickens"!