How do I tame my baby chicks?

[ChickNanny13]

Alot of patience ... 2x rosemarythyme, Shadrach

Depending how of the height of your brooder, approach slowly & no quick movements.
Let them come to you, sit next to your brooder, put some freeze dried mealworms in your hand, mash it some & hold it out in your palm, let them come to you.
When you "pick" them up; scoop them with your middle & ring finger from under/between their legs from the front to the back, so they'll be sitting in your palm & your pointer/baby finger is used to hold them.

For older chickens, get a step stool & some mealworms/BOSS ... Sit with them & sprinkle some goodies around you. They won't come but someone will get brave & start pecking. Every time you go to the coop, take some treats they will figure you're the one with the food & goodies.

I've spent many afternoons sitting in the coop just watching the girls, in time you'll be able to approach them more easily. My girls come running, there are time we still go through a short chase but all's forgotten after they get their maintenance work done.

Patience ....

 

[Chickassan]

Proper chick handling technique as mentioned by @ChickNanny13

 

[007Sean]

Alot of patience ... 2x rosemarythyme, Shadrach

Depending how of the height of your brooder, approach slowly & no quick movements.
Let them come to you, sit next to your brooder, put some freeze dried mealworms in your hand, mash it some & hold it out in your palm, let them come to you.
When you "pick" them up; scoop them with your middle & ring finger from under/between their legs from the front to the back, so they'll be sitting in your palm & your pointer/baby finger is used to hold them.

For older chickens, get a step stool & some mealworms/BOSS ... Sit with them & sprinkle some goodies around you. They won't come but someone will get brave & start pecking. Every time you go to the coop, take some treats they will figure you're the one with the food & goodies.

I've spent many afternoons sitting in the coop just watching the girls, in time you'll be able to approach them more easily. My girls come running, there are time we still go through a short chase but all's forgotten after they get their maintenance work done.

Patience ....

X2 This is the approach I take with my pheasants which are way more skittish than chickens. Takes alot of time but my birds come up to me everytime I go into their pens. If I sit on the ground, pretty soon they are crawling all over me.

 

[Ptera]

Some breeds are more docile/trainable than others. (If you want real cuddlers, you'll have better luck if you avoid breeds described as "flighty"). My method is similar MissChick@dee's. I keep my brooder box in the most used room of the house (the kitchen or bathroom) so they see & hear humans constantly. No pets or loud/rambunctious children allowed. That would scare them. They need to feel that humans are no threat. And for a while every day, I take them out of the box while I sit still on the floor (use newspaper or some other kind of drop cloth). Read a book or your laptop/tv if you get bored. They soon start exploring around me & climbing on my legs. If they stay still enough I cup my hands along side them so they feel protected & warmed. Don't force yourself on them. If they don't like being picked up, don't do it yet. You want them to feel safe and comforted by you, like a mother hen covering them with her wings. It usually doesn't take long, especially if you start the process when they're a day old, and they'll stay tame for life (as long as you don't do something to scare them along the way). My adult chickens run up to me when they see me, fly up to sit on my shoulder, go to sleep on my lap, etc. Roosters & hens alike. If you establish yourself as the head chicken/top of the pecking order/flock protector, you won't have as many instances of aggressiveness, and a firm hold will correct any roosters that try to become "uppity" (chase or attack you). No violence necessary. Just show absolutely no fear & hold them still for a few minutes to show them you have complete control over their body. Usually trains them after only 4 or 5 tries. This has always worked for me. It's also fun to learn what the different chicken noises mean and when you make them to your chicks, they follow the commands the same as they would to the mother hen. It's amazing that they have the inborn ability to do that.

 

[paneubert]

Call me crazy, but I plan to clicker train mine. Not from day 1. But from an age when they start to associate treats with me. Click, click, click. Sort of like how some people shake a treat jar. Hopefully it will help to get them to at least come near me when I need them to.

 

[Chickassan]

Crazy...You might as well start from day one, if you're going to be the food person and the one to run to,start clicking as soon as possible.

Call me crazy, but I plan to clicker train mine. Not from day 1. But from an age when they start to associate treats with me. Click, click, click. Sort of like how some people shake a treat jar. Hopefully it will help to get them to at least come near me when I need them to.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Clicker training shouldn't be any "crazier" than training them to come to a container of rattling treats.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Yup, that shaking of freeze dried mealworms in a plastic container work great! I start them at about a month old. Then the "problem" is when they see the container, they'll come a running & start jumping at it

 

[Ptera]

You could also just use the tried & true "Here...chick chick chick." Mine would always come running.

 

[Matilda Belle]

These birds are prey, so they will always have a fear in the back of their little brains that we are a threat. Patience and time is key. Allow them to eat out of your hands. I have hand fed my babies since they were 3 weeks old. They are all 8-9 months old now and still eat out of my hand (even the roosters). They still hate it when I go near them and especially when I try to hold them, but I know they trust me for the most part. Or maybe they just tolerate me. lol

P.S. You can't forget that all of them have different personalities too. One of my hens runs up to me begging for treats and the others run away screaming.