holding chicks

[Nicophorus]

Never realized how razor sharp those claws were until recently when I've had need to pick up 2 to 3 ish month hold chicks to move them into a secure night roost.

When their body is grasped, they can and do kick those feet up high and hook into and slash hands/arms. I've been forced to use one hand to grab the legs and hold them together/still while supporting the body of the chick with the other.

Is there some other obvious way to hold them I'm not thinking of? I got several cuts on my hands/wrists now.

Also putting them back down/releasing them makes me cringe, they always seem to panic as soon as you loosen your grip and tumble/fall/roll around and I keep thinking "this is how they are going to hurt their legs.."

So how do you hold half grown chicks...?

 

[Tame Emu Guy]

Nicophorus!!

Will you try an experiment? I have done it, but only a couple of times. (S.E. knows v. little about chicks.)

The chick was small. I did this: first, press all five of your finger tips together. See how you get a sort of ‘cage’?

‘Kay, I think it was: thumb-thumb are the ‘lock’ over the top of the chick. Neck goes between one and two, or two and three? Leggies go between third and fourth fingers.

Thus, while your fingertips are pressed firmly together, you aren’t physically squashing the chick; but it cannot get out of the cage.

There is a technique for handling slightly larger chicks. I 'surfed past' it on the Internet.

S.E.

 

[yinepu]

Never realized how razor sharp those claws were until recently when I've had need to pick up 2 to 3 ish month hold chicks to move them into a secure night roost.

When their body is grasped, they can and do kick those feet up high and hook into and slash hands/arms. I've been forced to use one hand to grab the legs and hold them together/still while supporting the body of the chick with the other.

Is there some other obvious way to hold them I'm not thinking of? I got several cuts on my hands/wrists now.

Also putting them back down/releasing them makes me cringe, they always seem to panic as soon as you loosen your grip and tumble/fall/roll around and I keep thinking "this is how they are going to hurt their legs.."

So how do you hold half grown chicks...?

I never have a problem with the claws.. and I can carry two half grown chicks at a time...

I guess you could describe it as almost carrying them like a football.. I tuck one under each arm holding their chest with the palm of my hand with the body tucked up under my arm and feet dangling.. even if they kick I don't get slashed... I know it's kind of hard to describe how I manage to pick them up and carry.. even my husband will shake his head when he sees me squat down and grab them two at a time like that

 

[Tame Emu Guy]

Yes!! That’s the description I saw!! – and the guy explained that he ‘incapacitates’ the chick’s legs by grasping both together with his ‘off’ hand.

I can’t recall whether he does that just above or just below the knee. (Then, if the chick struggles lose, it ends up upside down with its legs pressed together. No harm done at all.)

Could we have a photo of you with a chick under each arm, Yinepu?? I’d sure like to see that!

S.E.

 

[yinepu]

Yes!! That’s the description I saw!! – and the guy explained that he ‘incapacitates’ the chick’s legs by grasping both together with his ‘off’ hand.

I can’t recall whether he does that just above or just below the knee. (Then, if the chick struggles lose, it ends up upside down with its legs pressed together. No harm done at all.)

Could we have a photo of you with a chick under each arm, Yinepu?? I’d sure like to see that!

S.E.

lol.. I'm camera shy.. but we'll see if my husband can talk me into it!

 

[Nicophorus]

These chicks can kick and scrape up to their own bodies and necks, I bet if you tried to hold two feisty ones in each arm like that you'd have nice long bleeding cuts on your hands/arms like me lol.

Anyways, I don't even try to pick them up now, I got smart and with a series of movable screen type things, I open pathways up between their outdoor pen and indoor night roost.

I guess the only safe way is one at a time , with the free hand holding the legs together to stop the defensive kicks, like Tame Emu said.

 

[yinepu]

These chicks can kick and scrape up to their own bodies and necks, I bet if you tried to hold two feisty ones in each arm like that you'd have nice long bleeding cuts on your hands/arms like me lol.

Anyways, I don't even try to pick them up now, I got smart and with a series of movable screen type things, I open pathways up between their outdoor pen and indoor night roost.

I guess the only safe way is one at a time , with the free hand holding the legs together to stop the defensive kicks, like Tame Emu said.

guess again!!!. cause you just lost that bet!

My arms are unscratched... and not bleeding or cut up.
actually.. i have 0 emu scratches or cuts anywhere








and no holes or tears in my clothing.. however I do usually get pooped on...

as you can see.. my arms are out of emu reach...
they can kick and flail all they want.. I can't hurt their leg muscles by restraining them too tightly.. all I am doing is cradling their bodies in my arms

I'm not a skinny gal either.. so they have lots of me to target.. BUT they never get a claw on me!


so unless they will sprout claws out of their hips, hocks or out of the tops of their legs there is 0 chance of them clawing me at all... All they can hit me with is the top of their legs or their hocks. Their toes do not reach upward regardless of how much they struggle or fight

By the way...
i picked up both chicks by myself.. I can grab two at a time and pick them up together.. or grab one then the other.. it works either way

 

[Nicophorus]

I think I missed the obvious thing to do and hold them so the backs of their upper legs are against my body, I guess I was holding them too forward so they could bend their leg and claw. Looks so obvious now lol, duh.

Thanks.

 

[IlaWampa]

I'm impressed! Not very good at picking up mine. Always get slashed! Keep joking with my husband that I'm going to end up a Were-Emu!

 

[yinepu]

I'm impressed! Not very good at picking up mine. Always get slashed! Keep joking with my husband that I'm going to end up a Were-Emu!

lol.. I'm an old farm gal.. So I'm used to handling and catching critters (just slowing down a bit in my old age)

though I can still carry at least 6 roosters at a time...