Handling very young pet chicks: Yea or Nay?

[Disco Hen]

Hold all you want just be gental because they are very fragle

True!

 

[NoZolbitty]

Kudos to you, children need to learn about handling animals. So many children don't know how to be around critters and knowing may keep her or him from being hurt.

 

[Queen of the chickens]

Mine are now 3 weeks old. We pick them each up at least once a day for a minute or two, but they are so squirmy! I want them to be friendly and to want to be around me. Think it's too late to smother them with my love and get them used to me?

I really don't thinks so. Our Leghorns don't care much for being held, they never did. So we didn't try to force it. I just hand fed them daily and let them set the pace. They now run to me and follow me around the yard. Still not a fan of being held, but it I need to catch one, I usually can and they don't freak too bad. In fact we had one in the house for a couple of weeks while we nursed it's foot. We had to soak it's foot in salt water every other night. She would get a peaceful dreamy look on her face and then drift off to sleep. So funny.

 

[SilkieChickenLover336]

 

[SilkieChickenLover336]

hold. them. lots mine are adorable and i hold them everyday

 

[HetaChick]

YES!!!Hold them a lot.
All of my chickens let me pick them up at anytime and will come up to me for attention. Chicks seem to thrive off of affection (once they are no longer scared of you)


They really enjoy being cuddled, and I am a firm believer that it is good for them. After all, mother hens tuck them under and set over them and they cuddle up inher feathers.

 

[Whittni]

Healthy handling makes for a friendly chicken!

 

[Alyce birdbrain]

I hold mine everyday and I have also taken them to the school so that the kids can see a baby chick and we stopped at the coffee shop. My daughter and I suppervise the holding and they are instructed to not yell around them or their turn will be passed on to the next person till they can control their voice. I have them hold them in one hand and cup their other hand over them and shush them to calm them. This usually does the trick so they can take their hand down to pet the little critter. Also they need to be sitting on grass or padded surface. My kids are a little older but with little ones I hold the chick for them. They can be very impulsive and may squeeze to hard before you can rescue the little one.
When I am at home my kids read to them and I sit with them and pet them and rub under their wings and kiss them. I have one little one that will fall asleep the minute I start rubbing under her wing and will hold it up also. The pullet I have to doctore it's feet will now lay on it's back on my lap while I wash it's feet. I don't even have to hold him anymore.
I have a Serama rooster that is in training and with crickets as treats I am teaching it to come to his name. He was not really handled when young but now loves to even drive around with me.

 

[Rachel96]

Okay, so I'm beginning to wonder if you can actually hold them too much! I have some week-old quail chicks who I've held since they were literally about fifteen minutes old, and one of them starts peeping pitifully as soon as you're not holding it anymore... This is the same chick who's started climbing into the water bowl and lying down because it realised it gets more attention that way... Sigh. Who'd have thought you could have an attention-seeking chick?

 

[Rachel96]

Said attention-seeking chick has just pulled another trick which, sucker that I am, I fell for. Twinkle-Toes, who was named because it didn't uncurl its toes for several days after hatching, was held a lot at first as we were worried it might have a permanent leg deformity, so we did lots of 'physical therapy' with it and it uncurled its toes after about two days and is perfectly normal now. So we stopped holding it and cuddling it so much.

Just now, I was watching television with my sister, with the chicks on my lap. When I began to move to stand, I picked up the towel they were on and the others where happy sitting there. Twinkle-Toes ran over to the edge and jumped off onto the couch. It sat up, looked up at me, and then flopped onto its side as though it were injured. Sigh. Who said chicks can't be manipulative? The first time this happened, it was an accident and I was terrified it had broken something, so I checked that it was still moving both its legs and everything fine, and kept it with me for an hour or so to be sure. I guess it's realised that being 'sick' means it gets more attention. I think it actually concussed itself the first time, as it looked drunk, but it's happened a couple of times since then (with the cheeky look before playing sick), and when I put it down to see if it will walk, it's fine for a few steps before wobbling a little, but not entirely in a realistic way. It's definately playing me.

So, holding chicks is fine... but they can get too attached!