How Can I Tame My Chickens?

[thecreekhouse]

Hello. I have a flock of six pullets, all between 5 and 11 months old. I’ve had them for about 2 months now. I have three Ameracaunas, one Silkie, one Olive Egger and one standard Cochin.

None of my pullets were handled regularly as babies and as a result (I think), they are all very skittish with me. They move away quickly if I so much as lift my arm to push my hair back when I’m near them; any movement I make around them sends them scattering. Catching them involves chasing them. They absolutely hate being handled. I’m sure that chasing them makes them even more wary of us but sometimes we want or need to pick one of them up.

Does anyone have any suggestions for calming a flock down and getting them comfortable with being picked up? I already spend as much time as I can just sitting in the run with them, reading a book. I also bring them treats like cracked corn, although my attempts to get them to eat the treats out of my hand have failed.

If you have suggestions, please let me know.

 

[Matt119911]

Feed them meal worms from your hand then they will slowly get used to you

 

[Bigjibby4082]

I feed mine scraps by hand they love it dearly

 

[Acre4Me]

Are they laying? They seem friendlier once they are laying.

FWIW, we raised chicks that were handled a lot. Still a bit skittish till POL. Then a momma hen raised some chicks for us. And those chicks are super-skittish. They should be laying in the next month, but, really try to be anywhere else than where we are.

 

[Keeperofmunchkins]

Chickens are prey animals so they have a lot of instincts when it comes to potential threats. They tend to have a guilty until proven innocent approach to new things and can take a long time to learn that things are not dangerous. Unfortunately they seem to learn this more easily when they are babies which is why it is better to start geting chickens used to people right after hatching. But it is not impossible to tame older chickens, it is just a long and slow process of reinforcing that you and other humans are not a threat and are, in fact, quite nice.

Now things that they naturally do NOT enjoy are: being chased, being swooped over and grabbed from above, being cornered, being picked up, loud or strange noises, sudden movements. These things all directly translate as predator attacks to them.
Things they naturally DO enjoy are: eating, eating eating! And also having somewhere comfortable and higher than ground level to perch/preen and possible sit down and rest/sleep during the day (e.g. A nice human lap or knee or shoulder) .

Basically to tame then you must do the things they enjoy as much as possible and the things they dislike as little as possible. Eventually they will learn you are not a threat.

Chickens are motivated by food more than anything so if you are quiet and move slowly and calmly around them and present food to them, they will not be able to resist for long. One trick is to always approach them front on by crouching to their level and being very slow and calm. Offer treats so that they have to come to you for it (ie keep it in your outstretched hand and don't throw it on the ground). Keep absolutely still when they approach. Do not try to touch them at this stage otherwise their trust will be broken. If your treat is tasty enough looking they will take it and run.

Once you have them doing this you can start feeding them treats closer and closer to your body to get them to come nearer. They will learn that you are the tasty treat giver and start coming toward you when you enter their space.

Once you have them coming to you and hanging around you in the hope of treats, only then should you try to pet them a little and they should tolerate it. Chickens prefer to be stroked on the front of their chests rather than on their backs or the tops of their heads. This is because other chickens higher in the pecking order will give them pecking warnings to their comb area or back/wings so they usually associate being touched there with being told off or attacked.

If you gradually tame them like this they should end up being much more calm around you but there will be a limit to how far you can take it. Some chickens will never be overly friendly but it should be much easier to catch them and handle them in the event of illness or injury. Plus it is much more enjoyable keeping chickens who aren't afraid of you!