How can I get my chickens to like me again??

[Margy1]

When we got our chickens (EE) when they were a week old, we played with them, loved on them, gave them treats. They loved us, would let us walk around holding them and eat out of our hands.

Now they are about 21 weeks old and will not let us touch them. They have a big pen and a big coop. Every once in awhile I can pick one up, but she gets so scared! We go out everyday and spend time with them, I have tried to get them to eat from my hands, they wont. They barely come near us, yesterday they came over and started picking off the little "hitchhikers" from the grass that were stuck to my slippers. I have read posts about going out and sitting with them, bringing them treats, talking to them getting them used to my voice, and then eventually trying to get them to eat out of my hands, I have tried all that and they are still so scared! We have another chicken its a free range and she will let us touch her and pick her up and love on her.

How can we make them like us again???

 

[chooks4life]

Hmm, sounds like you've already checked out the predominant successful methods out there. If you use your voice in communicating with them, is it working? Or are they ignoring you?

Most chooks will show greater tolerance for humans when young, if handled, but many chooks simply don't like people or have complete apathy towards them. If they just don't like you there's not much you can do. However, they're still young, basically young adults now, they should settle down more with time.

You could try a very friendly rooster; some of those are quite good at getting even feral hens to come right to you. I'd try other methods first though, last thing you'd need is to try to get a good rooster and find he's just more trouble.

When you pick them up, do you prevent them struggling or are they left to flap and fight? The less they're able to fight, the more they're likely to settle down and learn instead. They can get stuck into a pattern of struggling and panicking when held if someone routinely picks them up in a way that makes them feel unsafe or unbalanced. Holding their wings to their bodies helps with that. Then you can sit them on your leg and when they're calm, let them walk off. Soon enough most chooks learn it's nothing to be feared.

Are they allowed to spend time hanging around you without you trying to touch them? Do you let them walk over you and take treats while you sit on the ground and don't try to grab them? Do you go digging in the garden with them or call them for treats regularly? All those things can help train them to trust you. While an automatic feeder could make life a bit simpler, with longer times between feeds, I prefer my chooks to know I'm the source of food, since it helps keep even human-averse chooks more human-oriented and docile.

They may be anti-human or may just need more time. They react strongly to your mood so being calm and relaxed about them helps a lot.

Best wishes and good luck.

 

[aart]

chooks gives good advice and asks great questions.

I've found that even the friendliest of chicks do not always continue to like to be touched, let alone held, after they get older. But most will come and eat treats out of hand, but i never try to pick them up while doing that or pretty soon they won't come to hand feed.

At 21 weeks they are probably just laying or getting close. They can get real spooky at that time, some will calm back down after they get the laying thing worked out, some will not.

I have a couple that come up to me every morning and do not fight at all being picked up and more important IMO being put back down....other avoid it like the plague. These 2 did not particularly like being handled as chicks either..so ya never know.

I try to handle most of them regularly by being sneaky in grabbing them calmly(oxymoron?) and getting control immediately by holding down wings and stabilizing feet, most will submit but do not like it. I try to put them back down while still holding wings and get them to stay still when feet touch the ground just for a second, sometimes picking them back up if they struggle. Some I can only handle off the roost at night, I won't chase/corner them unless it is absolutely necessary.

Overall I don't think of chickens as pets to pet. If they like it - great, if not - I have dogs to pet.

 

[Xtineart]

I think chooks and aart give some pretty sound advice here.

I definately agree with aart that it could be their age, they are basically teenagers, going though puberty.....think about most spotty hormonal teenagers you know, they probably seem batshit crazy and not too keen to be friendly either lol!. A classic *I'm going to my room to listen to music and you dont understand leave me alone* attitude. I'm pretty sure they'll come back down to earth once their wee bodies adjust and they get the hang of being egg laying grown ups instead of flaky kids.

I'd back off on the trying to hold or lift them for a bit and spend more time just sitting spending time with them, when I got my rescues they'd barely seen a human before so I spent a few weeks just laying out on the grass with them, chatting to them and making 'nice baby goo-goo speak' sounds or offering treats, a small bowl of meal worms on my lap or scatter some scratch round and sit out while they ate it so they knew I wasn't a threat to them. After a while I've been able to hand feed them slices of grapes, while saying their names individually as they take their piece and they've now associated their names with treats and come to my call, but it took a lot of perseverance to get to that stage.

Lifting and carrying was almost on their terms, once they came to me and were comfortable I'd lift them with both hands over the wings and cradle them like babies till they calmed while cooing to them and giving them a rock-a-bye baby cuddle and making sure I held them until they looked really calm, or started to close their eyes and relax before letting go while they were on my lap and letting them get up and walk off. They soon realised that it wasn't anything to be scared of and now two of them actively jump up to my lap when they want attention and cuddle time, although my princess still prefers me to lie down so she can cuddle up on her own terms, especially if I allow her to sit against my head or lie down next to me rather than be lifted. I think al lot of it needs to be on their terms, unlike dogs they dont seem to simply put up with being petted just to make their owner happy.

 

[azygous]

I agree with the previous two posters. I believe what you have here is a hormone thing. At times of hormonal changes, whether it's from a surge preceding onset of laying or in the case of cockerels, coming into their maturity, and then during molt when hormones drain away, chickens are more apt to be irritable and standoffish. After hormones normalize, they usually revert back to their friendly natures, if they were friendly before.

As has also been pointed out, there are chickens that have anti-social natures. I have a few of those, and no matter how much I try to get on their good side, if there is one, they are having none of it, preferring instead to fight and flap and screech and bite when held. If you have fourteen out of a flock of eighteen that are cuddly and love being held, I count that as a huge success.

 

[Margy1]

Hmm, sounds like you've already checked out the predominant successful methods out there. If you use your voice in communicating with them, is it working? Or are they ignoring you?

Most chooks will show greater tolerance for humans when young, if handled, but many chooks simply don't like people or have complete apathy towards them. If they just don't like you there's not much you can do. However, they're still young, basically young adults now, they should settle down more with time.

You could try a very friendly rooster; some of those are quite good at getting even feral hens to come right to you. I'd try other methods first though, last thing you'd need is to try to get a good rooster and find he's just more trouble.

When you pick them up, do you prevent them struggling or are they left to flap and fight? The less they're able to fight, the more they're likely to settle down and learn instead. They can get stuck into a pattern of struggling and panicking when held if someone routinely picks them up in a way that makes them feel unsafe or unbalanced. Holding their wings to their bodies helps with that. Then you can sit them on your leg and when they're calm, let them walk off. Soon enough most chooks learn it's nothing to be feared.

Are they allowed to spend time hanging around you without you trying to touch them? Do you let them walk over you and take treats while you sit on the ground and don't try to grab them? Do you go digging in the garden with them or call them for treats regularly? All those things can help train them to trust you. While an automatic feeder could make life a bit simpler, with longer times between feeds, I prefer my chooks to know I'm the source of food, since it helps keep even human-averse chooks more human-oriented and docile.

They may be anti-human or may just need more time. They react strongly to your mood so being calm and relaxed about them helps a lot.

Best wishes and good luck.

If I am outside of their coop/run area they will listen to me when I talk to them. They run over to me to see if I am going to give them grass (they have eaten all the grass inside their run and right outside the boarder lol.

When I get one that I am going to pick up I do hold her wings to her sides, I let her get used to my touch and calm down before I actually lift her off the ground, then I will hold them away from me a little and then I will put them up towards my chest. Usually after about a minute their little lets start shaking so I put them down and as I get them to the ground they get frantic and start flapping their wings like crazy.

We don't have an automatic feeder, we have a 7 gallon one which we fill maybe once a week. I don't always try to pick them up when I go in there, more often then not I just go in and stand or kneel down (I don't sit as its all dirt in there).If I do pick one up and hold it once I put it down I stay for another minute or two and then go outside of their area, sit and talk for a few minutes to them and then leave them be. I don't want to tramatize them too much.

I am definetly going to try going out with treats more frequently, they won't eat their grit we have for them so I get scared to give them stuff they would need grit for.

 

[Margy1]

chooks gives good advice and asks great questions.

I've found that even the friendliest of chicks do not always continue to like to be touched, let alone held, after they get older. But most will come and eat treats out of hand, but i never try to pick them up while doing that or pretty soon they won't come to hand feed.

At 21 weeks they are probably just laying or getting close. They can get real spooky at that time, some will calm back down after they get the laying thing worked out, some will not.

I have a couple that come up to me every morning and do not fight at all being picked up and more important IMO being put back down....other avoid it like the plague. These 2 did not particularly like being handled as chicks either..so ya never know.

I try to handle most of them regularly by being sneaky in grabbing them calmly(oxymoron?) and getting control immediately by holding down wings and stabilizing feet, most will submit but do not like it. I try to put them back down while still holding wings and get them to stay still when feet touch the ground just for a second, sometimes picking them back up if they struggle. Some I can only handle off the roost at night, I won't chase/corner them unless it is absolutely necessary.

Overall I don't think of chickens as pets to pet. If they like it - great, if not - I have dogs to pet.

Our free range chicken (we only have the one that is free range - her name is KC) she is okay being held and she will sit with you as long as you want. My boyfriend thought it might have something to do with the babies (21 weekers) getting ready to lay as well. They haven't laid yet. When we first found KC (she just showed up one day) she didn't want anyone to touch her or go near her, the day she started laying she became the friendliest little chicken! Sometimes there is still some coaxing with her to pick her up, but she enjoys it. I know chickens aren't - pets to pet- but it is still so sweet to hold them and love on them.

 

[Margy1]

Thank you all for the excellent advice.

I wen't out to the coop earlier, and they were eating the weeds off my slippers, and then just standing around me, I bent down to just run my fingers over one of their backs (Mr. T - she is a female lol) and she just stood there, I slowly grabbed her and picked her up and she just went with it. Did not act scared at all, pet her little head, under her neck, she just seemed so happy! I put her down after a minute or two so I didn't overwhelm her, once I put her down she stood right at my feet for a minute, then walked away. Maybe we are making progress?!

 

[Xtineart]

that's great margy it sounds like things are on the up. I think the key is spending plenty of time with them. Further to my post above I think I've overdone spending time with my girls to the point that they hate me to be away and would rather sit all day at my feet in the back room than go free ranging, and even a bowl of juicy worms couldn't tempt them out to the coop to sleep tonight, they just threw a proper strop and cried after I'd carried them in and closed the door, they are so clingy they think I'm part of the flock and seem stressed when I'm not in the group

 

[chooks4life]

If I am outside of their coop/run area they will listen to me when I talk to them. They run over to me to see if I am going to give them grass (they have eaten all the grass inside their run and right outside the boarder lol.

Alright, you've obviously done the groundwork there and achieved success. Good job.

When I get one that I am going to pick up I do hold her wings to her sides, I let her get used to my touch and calm down before I actually lift her off the ground, then I will hold them away from me a little and then I will put them up towards my chest. Usually after about a minute their little lets start shaking so I put them down and as I get them to the ground they get frantic and start flapping their wings like crazy.

Their legs shouldn't start shaking, to me that sounds like maybe they're avoiding you or avoiding being held because their nerves are insufficiently 'fit' to cope with it. So they're being overstimulated by things that shouldn't stress them, basically, overreacting due to physical not psychological causes. A little bit of stress becomes too much when the animal (or human) hasn't got good nerves.

Various things could be causing the shaking but low calcium/magnesium and/or B vitamins are three of the main culprits. If they don't have extra calcium supplementation I'd supply it, chances are that's the most likely deficiency if that's what's going on here.

Everybody else who's posted has made good points, and I very much agree with the concept of it being more important how it ends than how it began. I've always seen with mine it doesn't matter how it began as long as it ends well, since that's mainly what they remember.

As aart said, it's important to have a calm release. If they panic as they leave your grasp, in their minds it becomes akin to escaping a predator. You've noted that the hens begin getting frantic and struggling as you release them; that's the problem here, I reckon. That, and their physical reaction with the shaking, which I'd expect is likely dietary in basis.

I sit mine on my lap, and when they're calm, they are allowed to walk off. Not jump in any anxious manner, or burst away from me flapping, nor exhibiting any other fearful behaviors; if they do, I will simply catch them again and repeat the exercise until they leave me calm. If they just won't, after I've repeated it a good few times, I know chances are that one's just human-averse and don't waste time on it. It's important that they settle and become calm before you allow them to walk away, so their end perception of the interaction is that it's nothing to fear or flee from. Making eye contact with them can often break the barrier with some chooks, and with some others, it's skin on skin contact, holding their feet in your hand for example. They're all different.

We don't have an automatic feeder, we have a 7 gallon one which we fill maybe once a week. I don't always try to pick them up when I go in there, more often then not I just go in and stand or kneel down (I don't sit as its all dirt in there).

I found chooks often showed a bit of a different attitude to me while I was in the cages; I ended up bringing something to sit on precisely so I could capitalize on that. You can hang up or stand up a piece of board for example, or a cushion if you prefer, in the cage so it doesn't get pooped on but it's always ready to use. It's a great place to gain their trust; plenty of them enjoy my visits to their coops because they associate it with something nice. New perches, fresh nest materials, nesting disputes resolved, fresh water, new food, stuff like that.

I ended up with a regular escort of chooks that would come to stickybeak in what I was doing whenever I visited the cages. Roosters in particular were always very interested in me building new cages or rearranging nests and would inspect every new potential nesting site and perch, and encourage the hens to test them out. Half the time I couldn't get the job done before they were in there passing judgment on it, lol. They're very quick at putting two and two together, generally, if you're regularly the source of nice new developments they will view you in a positive light. Provided they're smart enough, not all chooks are, of course.

If I do pick one up and hold it once I put it down I stay for another minute or two and then go outside of their area, sit and talk for a few minutes to them and then leave them be. I don't want to tramatize them too much.

I am definetly going to try going out with treats more frequently, they won't eat their grit we have for them so I get scared to give them stuff they would need grit for.

If your area is rocky they may be sourcing enough grit already. Or they may need different grits. Some people wash the grits they sell in chemicals and the chooks don't like that. Sometimes it's too fine, too sharp, too blunt... They become pretty discerning about what they need and when. If they have a good supply of grit internally they will only add more when it runs low.

They need soluble calcium-rich grits too. In many commercial feeds the calcium grit they add just does not seem to get decent results and supplementation is often needed in quite a few areas despite the food being described as complete.

Dicalcium phosphate is one thing many layer feeds add as a calcium source that's really not ideal. It's known to exacerbate many existing health conditions, especially digestive system ones, and according to some authorities up to 80% of all poultry deaths are due to digestive disease so it's really something worth going out of your way to avoid. From pharmaceutical studies referenced by Wikipedia:
Quote:

It's associated with quite a few issues, pretty contentious stuff; a lot of livestock keepers (of horses, sheep etc) won't touch it.

The correct utilization of most nutrients is dependent on them being in organic form or as close as possible to natural form, and in the correct spectrum (accompaniment of the other nutrients used to digest them). There are many forms of calcium and some are not safe at all.

Taking calcium without magnesium, whatever the form of calcium being taken, is often either inefficient or harmful, and generally hard on the kidneys. If calcium goes in without being in conjunction with sufficient magnesium, it balances itself by taking that magnesium out of the animal's stores. Same as the reverse. This can make it harmful especially in already depleted individuals. It's why supplement manufacturers for humans have now added multiple other nutrients to calcium and magnesium supplements, including forms of vit D and multiple forms of vit C. Long term studies showed it can be harmful to take isolated, purified and overprocessed nutrients, which prompted that change. Since the average commercial feed for chickens is made for chooks that are generally expected to be culled very young, around 2 years on average, long-term survivability on their feed formulas is not a consideration. I believe long-term reliance on those feeds causes numerous deficiency diseases since they only contain basic survival rations, not actually a complete feed for longevity.

Calcium and magnesium need to be in the correct ratio for the body to use them properly and dicalcium phosphate is not the correct form for true health. Like many of the other ingredients in common poultry foods, it's cheap and convenient and will do at a pinch but for the best long term health you do generally have to get something better quality which generally means spending more or learning to mix your own feeds which can be cheaper in the long run but does take more time.

It definitely sounds like your hens need more calcium. Overreactions to everything are common without enough calcium as it coats the nerves, insulates for all intents and purposes... When they become a little stimulated, with sufficient calcium they remain calm but just more watchful, with insufficient calcium they can become hysterical. Personally, I never bothered with trying to handle animals with obviously poor calcium levels if it could be avoided. That's the profile of the animal most likely to die from cardiac arrest, because calcium and magnesium are extremely important for correct heart function. But that's not the most likely end result of handling animals low in cal-mag, most cope since the body basically 'digests' the long bones in order to gain sufficient cal-mag to keep the heart and brain working sufficiently... The real reason I didn't bother is because their over-excitability means more harm than good can be done in handling them, in terms of what they learn from it and how likely they are to react reasonably.

Another thing you can do is offer something like wholemeal bread buns with poppy seed in or on them. Or just the poppy seed added to feed, like a wet mix, so it binds to the food rather than falls to the bottom. While it's quite low in its opiate qualities compared to its pharmaceutical relative, culinary poppy seed can still help soothe fractious or anxious animals. Chamomile can too, rosemary is another nerve tonic, stinging nettle tea or dried leaves added to a wet mix are also great for supplying cal-mag and many other nutrients including protein and vitamin E, but generally just giving them a more rounded diet than what the typical layer feed supplies can help a lot.

I don't know exactly what they're eating obviously, my guessing what they're eating is based on the most common issues with a dietary basis one sees, and it's never one size fits all, so good luck with your experiments in that area if you decide to do so. There can be other reasons why a diet sufficient in the right forms of cal-mag is still not enough, for example intake of toxins robbing the body of its stores, since calcium is used to detox, and illness and injury even of so low a level no symptoms show still can really chew away at their calcium stores.

Best wishes.