How do you get your birds to be so friendly?

[rosemarythyme]

Most of it is luck of the draw, and the rest from breed tendencies, how much they've been handled and how consistent and routine you are in your handling. I have birds that I got at 7 weeks old from a feed store lot that are as friendly as birds I've raised since 2-3 days old. I treat the chicks from each batch equally but that yields every sort of behavior from flighty to being constantly underfoot. But even my flightiest bird will still come when called because I'm very consistent with rewarding for it, and she still accept treats from my hand before running off.

 

[HorseGirlAbby]

I found this thread a few days ago, but haven’t found time to reply. I think the amount of friendliness definitely has to do with how they were raised, and also their breed, with a bit of luck sprinkled in there. I hand raised all my chicks except the ones I hatched under a broody hen, and most of them are friendly. I have nine or so out of eighteen that love to be held, and the rest are sort of standoffish. Out of the three pullets hatched under my broody, two love me and one hates me. Two are the exact same mix, same parents, and they even look identical. I raised them the same way, gave them the same attention, and one runs up to me and demands to be picked up while the other runs the opposite way.

So for a long while I thought it was just how I raised them, spending lots of time holding them and sitting next to them. But last fall, I got four pullets around seven months old, two EEs and two Welsummers. All of them were terrified of people, as they’d been free ranging since they were hatched. Within two weeks I had three of them eating scratch out of my hand, and in a month the two EEs were begging to be hugged. Those two are now my most persistent, annoying chickens. They’ll run up to me and peck me until I finally hug them. The two Welsummers still despise me. I can catch one if I’m really quick, but they hate it.

In conclusion to me rambling on and on, I don’t think it’s any one thing. I believe the main thing is to get them used to you. I bribed the pullets with scratch in my hand, and they learned to associate me with good things. Soon, instead of running away, they came running to me. Breed also plays a part, and all seven of the EEs I’ve had love to be snuggled. But as I said with the two identical ones I hatched, there’s a little bit of luck involved as well.

 

[FoghornTim]

In all my 8.5 years of chicken keeping, I haven't had a super friendly chicken. I've had many chickens over the years, and not one of them has been extremely friendly.
I see many people with very friendly birds and I'm wondering, how do y'all do it? How do you get them to hop on your lap, follow you around, ask for attention, ect...?
Is it the breed? How you raise them? How much attention they get? Where you get them? Or is it a luck of the draw type of a thing?
I'd like to hear about ducks too, as sometime soon I'd like to get them!

My many years, much like other posts. Never can tell. I just sold two fancy breeds, not friendly to me. But both hens ruled the roost. Since they been gone, I have one Barred Rock. She does not rule like the others did, but her friendliness increased. She talks to me, follows me. Not allowing me to touch her. But loves to come near to me often. She just feels more free I suppose. Fun and interesting chickens are.

 

[Taffy57]

In all my 8.5 years of chicken keeping, I haven't had a super friendly chicken. I've had many chickens over the years, and not one of them has been extremely friendly.
I see many people with very friendly birds and I'm wondering, how do y'all do it? How do you get them to hop on your lap, follow you around, ask for attention, ect...?
Is it the breed? How you raise them? How much attention they get? Where you get them? Or is it a luck of the draw type of a thing?
I'd like to hear about ducks too, as sometime soon I'd like to get them!

Hi,
I have 2 Light Sussex hens that are really

 

[Taffy57]

Hi,
I have 2 Light Sussex hens that are almost 3 years old and are really friendly. I suppose the training (for want of a better term) started the week they hatched. My son would spend a good 30 mins to 1 hour handling them and stroking them and as they got older they were hand fed their favorite treat, which believe it or not is cooked gammon. This training continued for the following year and whilst being fed their favorite treat with one hand, they would get gently stroked with the other. We have now reached the point that when I return home from work after being away in my truck all week (long distance truck driver), as soon as the girls see me sat at the garden bench they will rush over, jump up onto the bench and sit side by side to be stroked and no longer looking for treats. Even my wife & Son can sit on the bench and get the same interest from one of the hens and she is the top bird in our flock, even over the roosters ! It is very relaxing to sit on the garden bench on a warm sunny day & have the girls waddle over to say "hi" and then shuffle up close to my leg to get a nice gentle stroking. They enjoy it so much that they will often become mesmerised and fall asleep. I'm currently working on the 3rd hen, who will now allow me to pick her up and she will sit at my side on the bench to get stroked, but that is not the same as the other 2 that will jump onto the bench of their own free will and without being tempted with bits of gammon.

In all my 8.5 years of chicken keeping, I haven't had a super friendly chicken. I've had many chickens over the years, and not one of them has been extremely friendly.

 

[Just2chickens]

I had a White Leghorn, she passed away today, she was about 4,5 years old) and I will miss her very much because she was so friendly. She's was ex-battery hen, I got her when she was about 16 months old, her foot had been broken and not properly healed and she was missing a lot of feathers.
I heard that white leghorns are very skittisch and aloof so I treated her accordingly, to win her over and so that she would trust me. So no sudden gestures, reminding myself that she could only see me from one eye because of her floppy comb, and treats from my hand.
After a year she was still a bit afraid of me and then our other chicken died, during the pandemic, so I couldn't get her a new friend right away. And then she got bumblefoot and I had to treat that .. she didn't like it but after a while she new that what I was doing helped, she was no longer in pain. So she began to trust me, I spend a couple hours every day with her because she was alone. She was talking to me all the time, and I began to understand what she meant... She would ask with her Putputput if it was okay for her to go somewhere, that I needed to follow her , that she wasn't shure and so on. After 9 months we got her a friend... She dindn't like it at first, but I saw the difference and why most chickens can't be kept alone... She began to eat more, she got out into the garden more , she was not in her nestbox all the time... It realy made a difference although before I didn't see she was lonesome.
But also she became more friendly towards me, she wanted to cuddle, wanted to be hugged, she developed a whole set of signs so that I would know what she wanted of me . Pecking on my leg was ,I want to sit on your lap, and when she sat there she would arange with her beak where I should place my arms... scratching at my shoe ment that I had to help her searching for worms ( because of her foot she couldn't realy do that ) standing on my shoe ment that she was tired and wanted to be carried... And so on. Even today, minutes before she passed this happened: She hadn't been drinking since this morning so I knew that this was it...( She had been not feeling well for the last 11 days, and yesterday it became so that I called every vet I could reach but they wouldn't take her because they didn't want to see' new patients' , our neighbour offered to help us this evening but she passed before that could happen)
So I checked on her every now and then, and at noon I desided to sit with her, when she saw me, she got up, holding balance with her wings, she was realy weak, but still allert, and moved towards me. I didn't want to pick her up because I was afraid hurting her, so I leaned towards her and gave her a hug. I told her everything was okay, she was safe... then she looked at me , and she was gone....
I think I was very lucky with her, but I also noticed in the last couple of months that althought they are supposedly skittisch and aloof I see a lot of those White leghorns ( here on the forum, on Instagram and so on) that have realy special bonds with 'their ' humans...
Also our other Hen, a light Sussex, has followed in her footsteps and is also a lapp chicken, doesn't want to be held, but she likes that we pet her and even allowes a cuddle .. If she's in the mood...

 

[Taffy57]

Hi,
I have 2 Light Sussex hens that are almost 3 years old and are really friendly. I suppose the training (for want of a better term) started the week they hatched. My son would spend a good 30 mins to 1 hour handling them and stroking them and as they got older they were hand fed their favorite treat, which believe it or not is cooked gammon. This training continued for the following year and whilst being fed their favorite treat with one hand, they would get gently stroked with the other. We have now reached the point that when I return home from work after being away in my truck all week (long distance truck driver), as soon as the girls see me sat at the garden bench they will rush over, jump up onto the bench and sit side by side to be stroked and no longer looking for treats. Even my wife & Son can sit on the bench and get the same interest from one of the hens and she is the top bird in our flock, even over the roosters ! It is very relaxing to sit on the garden bench on a warm sunny day & have the girls waddle over to say "hi" and then shuffle up close to my leg to get a nice gentle stroking. They enjoy it so much that they will often become mesmerised and fall asleep. I'm currently working on the 3rd hen, who will now allow me to pick her up and she will sit at my side on the bench to get stroked, but that is not the same as the other 2 that will jump onto the bench of their own free will and without being tempted with bits of gammon.

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

Yeah, I got Brahmas thinking they would all be friendly, but their personalities range from "I'll scream if you touch me" to "I'll keep a safe distance, thank you" to "I'm curious but I don't want to come too close". They have been, however, naturally much calmer around me, especially after I catch them, and they're easier to examine, etc. than my EEs. I just treated one of them for impacted crop and she did become a lot more comfortable around me, but not so comfortable that she'll come up to me on her own.

My brahma is the dont touch me and ill scream, plus run around and try everything not to be picked up

 

[clayhill]

Crickets! And, spending lots of time around them. I have had some that were super friendly. The ones I have now, not so much. I just haven’t spent the time with them.

 

[Dreamers Nook]

Much has to do with individual personalities, just in going on 3 weeks, I can see distinctive personalities blooming. Some more friendly than others.

It is definitely more difficult trying to clean things (water, food trays, etc) when you're being flocked (pun intended lol) by a bunch of fluttering fluff butt. And try to be sure not to squish anyone. Sheesh!