Hands-Off the Chicken

[Zach123]

This was an interesting read:

Fear in Poultry
http://www.poultryhub.org/production/husbandry-management/poultry-behaviour/fear-in-poultry/

One thing sticks out from the article "...A current limitation is that our understanding of the human behaviours that affect birds’ fear responses is poor...When more information is available on the specific factors affecting the fear of humans seen in poultry, the most suitable method(s) and appropriate training, if required, can be developed."

 

[kcan2]

My chickens have never allowed me to pick them up which makes the task of assessing their health difficult. They won't allow me to pet them either. But I wish you luck in your endeavor. Please pass on your technique if you manage to become closer friends with your chickens.

I also wanted to express how much I enjoy your writing and your humor.

Thank you for the nice compliment @Galeann ! You can rest assured I will keep trying and if I ever crack the chicken taming code, I'm sure the secret will get out because I can't stop talking about/messing with them!

 

[gtaus]

try not to kiss her on the beak.

Chicken lips!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Just to show you how random it is, of my 7 birds, this is the only one that wants to be held. There was no training or bribery involved, we went to pick her up and move her out of the way one day and discovered she's fine sitting in the palm of a hand like this. Even as an adult she still fits in one hand. I "fly" her around like a toy airplane.

 

[50-45-1]

my most human friendly chicken was a very small banty hen. she was an old English game that i named Carmel Cream. she would bother me by pecking lightly on my shoes to get my attention, then if i continued to ignore her she would fly up on my shoulder or top of my head. something i sometimes did not like if i was dressed for work! if i called her and held my arm out, she would always fly up on it.
she was my smallest chicken for quite a while and maybe i coddled and held her more.
she loved to be on my lap and eat grain from my hand. a truly spoiled bird. I found her dead in the yard one day with zero injuries. i believe her heart gave out. i miss her.

 

[kiwi-chick]

discovered she's fine sitting in the palm of a hand like this

Apparently that is the correct way to hold a chicken!

 

[Shadrach]

Keep your hands low as @BantyChooks mentions and gently slip your palm underneath them. If you can manage to let them place their feet in your hand I've found it helps.
If you can hand feed them then you can touch their beak. I do this with all the chickens here. I rarely pick one up but once they've got used to having their beak touched they are withing capture distance if necessary.
Chicken do not like have their wings restrained or their feet disabled for obvious reasons.

 

[BantyChooks]

Unfortunately I am not aware of much that has been done in the field of handling poultry or any work on understanding a chickens response to pressure. It would be fascinating if it were and would be revolutionary in managing and handling our flocks.

I wholeheartedly agree. Personal experience is good and helpful, but actual, professional studies and books would be quite interesting and certainly most helpful to those without the natural "knack" for it.

 

[rosemarythyme]

If you unbalance that lined pressure point even slightly, they shoot off in an entirely new direction to escape it. Makes herding them hard and herding a group impossible.

I can attest to that, though I think I've gotten pretty good at telling when one is about to jet off in a different direction.

I do "herd" mine each afternoon, walking behind them and waving a pooper scooper to direct them where to go, but I'm curious as to how many chickens becomes too many to manage in such a way.

 

[BantyChooks]

Would you have any suggestions to get them in from free-ranging midday without force? Did you just wait to feed them, and put the food in the coop? I believe that is how my problem started: I would capture my chicken (from free ranging) before he was ready and he started learning to avoid me at any close proximity. If I had only known of a way to make him go more willingly it would have helped!

That'll do it. Not being the "bad guy" whilst interacting with them will go a long way towards currying favour with your birds.
I do not put them to bed early now that they're free ranging. Waiting to feed them works to some extent, but I found I always had a few uninterested stragglers that had filled up on grass and bugs.