Babs_Jellymuck
In the Brooder
I have kept quail for 3 years but I'm new to chickens. This year I got 5 brahma bantam chicks which are now 1 month old. I have been the sole person feeding them, doting on them, and talking to them since they hatched. I've read that this breed can be a little sketchy but my chicks are totally terrified of me despite regular visitation. Since they first arrived I have been slowly putting my hand in the brooder and letting them walk across it, etc. They will eat out of my hand, but if I attempt to pick them up it's absolute pandemonium-- shrieking, scurrying around desperately (as such, I don't do this often! mainly just to get them out of the brooder and take them into their pen on sunny days) Curious if this is normal for this age or breed, or if there's something I should be doing differently?
The main reason I switched from quail to chickens is because I wanted calmer, friendlier birds. The quail are sweet but startle very easily, not to mention mine were traumatized early on by a rat that was sneaking into the coop at night and eating them, sigh. That issue was resolved two years ago (my coops are now covered in hardware cloth and cement) but the quail never again trusted me to breathe in their presence. In fact they're quite dramatic so I tend to leave them be so as to not stress them out.
Any advice you have is appreciated!
The main reason I switched from quail to chickens is because I wanted calmer, friendlier birds. The quail are sweet but startle very easily, not to mention mine were traumatized early on by a rat that was sneaking into the coop at night and eating them, sigh. That issue was resolved two years ago (my coops are now covered in hardware cloth and cement) but the quail never again trusted me to breathe in their presence. In fact they're quite dramatic so I tend to leave them be so as to not stress them out.
Any advice you have is appreciated!
so they're at least familiar with my ramblings.
