Holding chicks

[Chickensarecool123]

hi i recently made a post about me getting two new chicks, I want my new chicks to like being held, or at least tolerate it
My pullet however hates me holding her and barely tolerates me petting her, the new chicks are already running away from my hand above their head thinking im going to pick them up, I saw this one video where she holds them as much as she can and they want to be held, mine on the other hand are trying to run away, do you guys have any tips?
Thanks in advance

 

[ChickenChick46]

Maybe someone can offer you some tips, but in my (very limited) experience, it's up to the individual bird. My first 4 birds love me and always have. They ate from my hand from day one, never minded being picked up, and as soon as they were big enough would fly from the brooder and land on whatever part of me was closest.

My second group of 4, total opposite! They shriek when I reach in the brooder and hide. They're now 4 weeks old and just in the last 3 days or so have decided I'm not going to kill them. They'll hop on my hand, or eat from it. But petting them illicits a hardy round of those shrieks.

Then my next group is 2 weeks old. 3 of them. They're more similar to my first group. They're fine being held and they'll eat from my hand. They aren't quite as cuddly, but much more so than my middle group.

I've got a total of 11 right now between 2 and 7 weeks old. They're all bantams and there are several different breeds.

My best advice is to stay patient. Offer food from your hand several times each day, but don't force them to let you hold them, other than what is necessary to check for their well being.

 

[ChickyCh00k]

There is such a thing as TOO many lap chickens. When you have 6-8 full grown chickens trying to get on your lap at the same time, it can be a bit of a fluster cluck.

In all seriousness, generally, chicks do not respond well to things (hands) coming at them from above. The best thing you can do, in my experience, is just sit near them. I have always set my brooders up so I can be on the floor with them. Let them jump up on your legs (they will eventually get curious) and if you're going to put your hand near them, do so slowly and from the side/front and low (below head height).

Chicks and chickens typically don't want to be picked up and "held", but I have found that many of them do like to jump onto my lap and get a scratch on the head or a bit of a squeeze - it must be on THEIR terms, though.

If I sit in my chicken yard, one of my girls will come running and jump up on my lap and I put my arm around her and she snuggles right in and will stay for as long as I let her. Another one, will jump up with her and I will hold her as well. That's 2 out of 20 (lol)... many of the others will jump up on my lap for a moment or two and then jump down. And several of them will not come within 5 feet of me.

As @ChickenChick46 said, it does have a lot to do with the individual personalities of the chicks, but it also has to do with the way you are interacting with them and how often. My 2 "lap chickens" are from the first chicks I ever got. I raised them in a tent in my spare bedroom and was sitting inside the tent with them several times/ day for 6 weeks. They were never afraid of me because I was in that brooder from day 1, letting them use me as a jungle gym.

All of my other chicks have been brooded outdoors. I did try to spend as much time as possible with them and let them get used to me like I described (sitting with them and letting them decide how much interaction they wanted), but it wasn't nearly as much time as I was able to spend with my first group, so the hens from the subsequent groups aren't nearly as friendly as my first (but they're friendly enough).

 

[ChickenChick46]

There is such a thing as TOO many lap chickens. When you have 6-8 full grown chickens trying to get on your lap at the same time, it can be a bit of a fluster cluck.

In all seriousness, generally, chicks do not respond well to things (hands) coming at them from above. The best thing you can do, in my experience, is just sit near them. I have always set my brooders up so I can be on the floor with them. Let them jump up on your legs (they will eventually get curious) and if you're going to put your hand near them, do so slowly and from the side/front and low (below head height).

Chicks and chickens typically don't want to be picked up and "held", but I have found that many of them do like to jump onto my lap and get a scratch on the head or a bit of a squeeze - it must be on THEIR terms, though.

If I sit in my chicken yard, one of my girls will come running and jump up on my lap and I put my arm around her and she snuggles right in and will stay for as long as I let her. Another one, will jump up with her and I will hold her as well. That's 2 out of 20 (lol)... many of the others will jump up on my lap for a moment or two and then jump down. And several of them will not come within 5 feet of me.

As @ChickenChick46 said, it does have a lot to do with the individual personalities of the chicks, but it also has to do with the way you are interacting with them and how often. My 2 "lap chickens" are from the first chicks I ever got. I raised them in a tent in my spare bedroom and was sitting inside the tent with them several times/ day for 6 weeks. They were never afraid of me because I was in that brooder from day 1, letting them use me as a jungle gym.

All of my other chicks have been brooded outdoors. I did try to spend as much time as possible with them and let them get used to me like I described (sitting with them and letting them decide how much interaction they wanted), but it wasn't nearly as much time as I was able to spend with my first group, so the hens from the subsequent groups aren't nearly as friendly as my first (but they're friendly enough).

Great advice! My 2nd and 3rd groups have been integrated and are together in a tent playpen in my guest bedroom, lol. I sit in the floor next to them with the door unzipped, and they'll occasionally hop out onto my legs, then back in. They're getting more used to me every day, thought it takes time.

 

[kattabelly]

Reaching down from above is how a lot of predators would grab them. Hold your hand down at ground level and let them just get used to it being there at first before you try anything else. If they don't start to approach on their own, you can slowly move your hand either towards them or into a spot where it will be in their way. You can also try hand feeding once they stay calm when your hands are fairly close.

To get them to step onto your hands rather than needing to be grabbed, what I do is start by holding my hand out flat in front of them, just above the level of the ground or whatever they're standing on, in a way that they don't feel really trapped and panic but it's easier to walk over my hand to get to wherever they're going than to go around it. Once they get up the nerve to do it once or twice, they'll usually realise that nothing awful happened and start to be more relaxed about doing it in future. I think having warm hands helps, and offering food definitely does if they're already used to being hand fed. Let them get used to stepping up and staying on your hand for a minute before you do anything like lifting your hand with them on it, and pay attention to their body language - try to put them down while they're still relaxed. If you can read them well enough, offering your hand as a lift between levels when they're first beginning to explore higher up can be a good way of getting them to trust you.

With "petting" how are you trying to do that? They often don't like to be stroked, and touching their back can be confusingly similar to mating behaviour for older birds. Look at how chickens interact with each other - just being physically close, or gentle pecking and grooming. Gently rubbing under their beak, around where their wattles are (or will be) usually goes down well ime.

Chickens are all different and you won't necessarily end up with one that *wants* to be held or petted even if you do all this, but it's more likely to give you birds that will at least tolerate a certain amount of handling fairly calmly. Consistency is important too - not just for the first few weeks, but as they get older and become more independent. (They'll probably still go through a phase of sometimes seeming like they're terrified or they hate you. That's pretty normal.)

 

[Anon112]

Maybe someone can offer you some tips, but in my (very limited) experience, it's up to the individual bird. My first 4 birds love me and always have. They ate from my hand from day one, never minded being picked up, and as soon as they were big enough would fly from the brooder and land on whatever part of me was closest.

My second group of 4, total opposite! They shriek when I reach in the brooder and hide. They're now 4 weeks old and just in the last 3 days or so have decided I'm not going to kill them. They'll hop on my hand, or eat from it. But petting them illicits a hardy round of those shrieks.

Same! I had two Leghorns who loved being near me and as "newborns" would crawl into my cupped hand and fall asleep.

I think that just spending a lot of time around them, offering treats/mash by hand, and actually sitting down with them makes a big difference.

I've never had a lap chicken, but I have several who like to come stand near me and hang out and "chat" to me.

At this point all of my youngest chickens were raised by hens, so they tolerate me but definitely don't see me as a potential cuddle buddy!

 

[thecatumbrella]

Another vote for "it's personality dependent". My lap chicken was a lap chick from Day 1. I didn't do squat. I do get them used to hands the same way kattabelly does (mostly by resting my arm in the brooder for them to explore). I was able to tame a more nervous chick once she was older with "tuggies", which is as bizarre as it sounds. She didn't like to be held or have chest rubs, but LOVED if I gently tugged on the feathers around her keel. It was almost like milking a chicken.


Creepy story aside, you can only as get snuggly with your birds as they're comfortable with. I don't care for the advice of over-handling them. Aside from the necessary health checks, my birds have boundaries and I respect that.

 

[Anon112]

Creepy story aside, you can only as get snuggly with your birds as they're comfortable with. I don't care for the advice of over-handling them. Aside from the necessary health checks, my birds have boundaries and I respect that.

Agreed. Chickens just have different ways of expressing "I like you!" than a cat or a dog. One of my favorites, Strawberry, always comes up to me and tugs on the hem of my skirt, which is her way of begging for treats. Two of my Welsummers like to come and stand under the chair where I sit when they're free ranging.

And having this attitude makes it easier to not have my feelings hurt by the chickens who act like I plan to murder them every time I move in their direction. (Sure, run away. I've only been FEEDING AND HOUSING AND WATERING AND MEDICATING YOU FOR 5 YEARS, GRETA!)

 

[thecatumbrella]

I have several who like to come stand near me and hang out and "chat" to me.

I have one of these in my current flock. It's incredibly endearing! Loves if I get down at her level when she's on the roost so she can make eye contact while we talk.

 

[Anon112]

I have one of these in my current flock. It's incredibly endearing! Loves if I get down at eye level when she's on the roost so she can make eye contact while we talk.

When you think about it, it's such a funny relationship. Chickens aren't wrong that we are predators!