Handling chickens.

[kmollyhughes]

We worked a lot with our oldest girls. 2 BSL, Orpy, 2 Barred Rocks, GSL, 4 Easter Eggers. Once they hit that teenage stage they wouldn't come anywhere near us. Now they are starting to lay and becoming very friendly again. They even let my 3 year old daughter walk around with them. Lol. A chicken under both arms and the rest of the flock following close behind. It's adorable. So keep at it. Spoil them rotten if you have to. They will eventually realize you won't hurt them...and have treats. (Blue berries, crickets, raw sunflower seeds, meal worms, and yogurt are my girls faves.) Good luck...and be patient.

 

[marktoo]

Yep....although some people deny it, all critters have different personalities & behave differently to being handled in the same manner. Keeps things interesting....sometimes frustrating.

Always get a kick out of seeing young'uns interacting with animals. Sometimes amazes me that the animals put up with so much. 3/4 of a cat dangling from a child arms of some such thing but the animals seem to take it in stride, at least some. I will be patient with my pullets but keep the bbq at ready. ;o)

 

[Scott H]

If you handled them often as babies and they will eat from your hand, my experience is they do start to shy away BUT when they get to laying age you should be able to start handling them again. They will start to "squat" when you approach them the closer they get to laying age. When they squat you can pick them up.

Well, our BLRB Wyandotte squatted last night when I approached her from behind last night. Looked like she wanted to breed to me! I just reached down and petted her for about 30 seconds. Could never touch her before. Too funny!

 

[One Chick Two]

I recommend watching your birds to see what they like and respond well to.
With our RIR pullets, we handled them from day 1, but when they became pullets, the girls became more independent to a bit standoffish, to "trilling" and resisting when they didn't want to be picked up.

Like you, I wanted to have them become more receptive again to petting, so I started to watch them closely and notice what they seemed to like or respond to. I also watched the responses of our next set of tiny baby chicks (to be eventually integrated into our current flock). Found that the pullets are best receptive when "lovin'" time seems to be their "idea" (and when it's not centered around eating/food time).

They will follow us around the yard (no food) and fly up on us, or just jump up, but, if one or two start to nibble my toes (they like to peck my toes through my garden crocs) or, if at any time nearby them that seems like a relaxing time, the girls halt. After the halt, I will place my hand gently under their crop and lightly message their little golf ball, they nearly always seem to become very calm and relax, then squat on my hand/ ground, etc. It's then that I believe they seem most receptive.

If I see them just relax, I can almost always move them slowly to my lap if they haven't already jump/flew there when I sit. Sometimes they want to perch on an arm/ hand/ shoulder. I speak softly and stroke them gently between the wing blades and very gently on the side ear muffs. If I see them close their eyes in a relaxed manner, they will often sleep there for awhile for petting. Sometimes they relax so much they spread out and slip off my lap. lol

Sometimes I have 5-6 birds on my lap and a few on my feet, since one chick does something, the others want to do it too. Much of the time they don't want to leave if I have to get up, but I make sure they are calm when I put them down, so this relaxation time together seems to work most of the time.

Here's my experiment with the baby chicks at 3 days old.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/794971/how-to-have-baby-chick-be-happy-to-hop-into-your-hand

They are two weeks old now, and about 25 of them are regular handling "customers." I handle the more reticent chicks too, but some just are more flighty/ introverted, and will take more patience to have them become comfortable over time. (Or not- some birds just don't take to handling.) I think they just are easier to deal with when they feel really comfortable. Just my two cents. Hopefully this helps.

 

[marktoo]

One chick two - Thanks for the info, it's greatly appreciated.

 

[Nutcase]

Wow, awesome post, One Chick Two.

 

[Gargoyle]

Here's my experiment with the baby chicks at 3 days old.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/794971/how-to-have-baby-chick-be-happy-to-hop-into-your-hand

I had trouble getting your link to work, it seems to have an invisible space at the end that messes it up.
This is a cleaned up version, it seems to work better:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/794971/how-to-have-baby-chick-be-happy-to-hop-into-your-hand

 

[The Bird House]

I'm curious, those of you whose chickens are more less, pets with benefits. Are you able to handle your birds at will?

We have 2 GLW & 2 SLW that we've had from day one. We chose Wyandottes because they were reputed to be docile, friendly, good layers, etc, etc. We have hand fed these girls snacks from a very early age. Handled them often until they began to shy away from our hands. Now coming up on 14 weeks, they still do not like to be touched. We can walk amongst them, sit with them, feed them by hand, etc, etc. but try to touch them & they're outta there. This is becoming a problem when we want to check each bird's condition. Which we probably aren't doing as often as we should cause it's such a pain. When we do handle them after inspection we hold them till they're quiet, place them down & don't release them till they're quiet. I really dislike having to corner them in order to pick them up. Anyone else have this problem? Suggestions. Thanks!

We've had our 4 hens since the first of May and handled them all regularly as chicks. We can now handle two of them more than the other two.

Here's the breakdown:
Colombian Wyandotte (Marsala) - Doesn't like to be handled, but will follow me around.
Partridge Cochin (Lucy) - Doesn't like to be handled. She tends to wonder away from the others and not interested in many of the same foods/treats.
Easter Egger (Gracy) - Doesn't mind being handled to some extent. She's the leader of the group and keeps the other birds in line.
Dominique (Vesuvio) - She's my favorite. Will hop into my lap and actually seem to look to be picked up when in the coop. I slide my hand under her belly and she'll step up onto my hand. When she was a chick, she'd sit on my shoulder, which I think she's still wanting to do.

I've found that it's easier to handle them when inside the coop, (We have a walk in) and later in the day right before roosting. They'll squawk a bit, but definitely easier to handle them then.

 

[One Chick Two]

I wrote back in June ago... just wanted to weigh in again with an additional thought.

Just something to try on a somewhat friendly, standard-sized bird:
Take bird gently in arm (pinning wings, so no one gets hurt if there's a sudden panic) legs dangling, positioned as not to scratch (just in case). Tuck their body under your chin, and with opposite hand, gently place or urge their head on your shoulder, and make soothing sounds such as, "Shhhhhh...Shhhhhh good chickie" softly, so they have to listen to what you are saying. This works amazingly well for us for calming most of our birds right down. Always make sure they are calm when handling. Don't wear earrings. lol

I don't let them become interested in anything near face/ teeth/ eyes, and will gently turn their head away to a different angle to fixate upon something else. They seem "line of sight."

 

[Michael Apple]

I'm curious, those of you whose chickens are more less, pets with benefits. Are you able to handle your birds at will?

We have 2 GLW & 2 SLW that we've had from day one. We chose Wyandottes because they were reputed to be docile, friendly, good layers, etc, etc. We have hand fed these girls snacks from a very early age. Handled them often until they began to shy away from our hands. Now coming up on 14 weeks, they still do not like to be touched. We can walk amongst them, sit with them, feed them by hand, etc, etc. but try to touch them & they're outta there. This is becoming a problem when we want to check each bird's condition. Which we probably aren't doing as often as we should cause it's such a pain. When we do handle them after inspection we hold them till they're quiet, place them down & don't release them till they're quiet. I really dislike having to corner them in order to pick them up. Anyone else have this problem? Suggestions. Thanks!

The best time to check birds' over is at night when they are calm and roosting. I use a head lamp so both hands are free. This is the time to check for mites, administer wormers, supplements, meds, etc. I've had Wyandottes for many years, and with people they are generally docile, but can be brutes to other breeds. Chicken behavior goes through changes due to hormonal activity just like many other animals, and even humans. I've seen a number go through the nervous stage while still pullets or cockerels. They come around to contentedness with a familiar routine. I do my best to keep stress (loud noise, changes in environment) to a minimum. That keeps skittish behavior to a minimum also. You don't have a problem. It is just normal behavior. Be glad you don't have Leghorns as a first time breed. Lol. Your hat gets blown off in the wind, and they are flying around, squawking like it is the end of the world.