How do you get your chickens to be friendlier?

[Chickens in Elmwood]

We have 11 14 week old chicks, 10 pullets and 1 cockerel. They are very curious and social, but really only the two RIRs like to be touched at all. None of them care for getting picked up. Usually once I have them, they are fine, but I have to distract them with a really excellent treat to be able to hold them. These are our first chickens, so I don't know if this is normal behavior. I keep reading about everyone's "lap chickens" - while I don't really care if they sit on my lap or not, I would like to be able to pick them up to look for lice, mites, etc. without freaking them out.

We have had them all since they were 3 days old and have handled them very often, especially when they were little enough for my kids to hold.

Like I said, they are friendly and always like to be running around us when we are in the yard (they free range most of the day). Am I just expecting too much? Would picking them up more often help them get used to it, or make them run from me? Chickens are a lot more complicated than people give them credit for.

 

[Featherland]

Most chickens don't like to be picked up. Some seem to like to hang out with you more than others. There will be some that are very friendly and like to be picked up but they are not the usual. I have 1 chicken out of around 35 that loves to be picked up and held. She will even come running to me. In fact she thinks she is a puppy. But I think yours are showing normal behavior. In a few weeks when they are getting close to laying eggs they will start squatting. When they do that it is easier to pick them up. I wouldn't force them.

 

[DaffyLvsChicks]

I had hoped to see more answers to your question b/c I have had similar questions in my head! I now have several years "experience" with chickens and, I agree, they are harder to figure out than people realize! My observations: **Maybe** breed makes a difference...my RIR(hens) seem prone to being friendly. Sweetest hen I've ever seen is my Black Sumatra. She flies to my arm, nestles against my chest & doesn't leave until I make her! Seems to me that biggest difference has been when chicks are hatched in incubator and raised by humans. All mine hatched or raised by mama hen are aloof or downright scared to death by me. That's just the hens. Roosters are another story. The roosters I've spent the most time with, trying to "socialize" have turned mean. The one that I got as an adult & never handled, never attacks.

 

[Silkiefan]

Silkies are supposedly very social, but mine only joins our lap if the tv or computer is on... and dosn't like being picked up. My Barred Rock is annoyingly affectionate and feels free to jump on anyone - even the dogs, which I have to watch carefully, because of course, the Labrador knows that chicken tastes like chicken!
Someone told me too that chickens don't really like being handled and it's normal... and someone also told me to keep handling them daily and in small doses, eventually, over time they'll relax. I think the Barred Rock is weird because I bought her while on a road trip, so she TOTALLY bonded with me... slept with me, sat on my shoulder when I drove, and ate out of my mouth... sigh... I take this chicken thing a bit far...

 

[Jameberlin]

It's totally normal behavior, they act like they might love you then BAM! rejection.

Even though they mostly secretly despise you, they sure do have personalities all their own.

My RIR was always aloof until i had treats, then she had this "I'd eat your eyes out if your face was closer to the ground" attitude... Now she's sick and can't escape, so i'm getting my revenge by nursing her back to health! I have one EE that won't fuss or flap if i pick her up, roll her around to get her eggs or anything, but she sure is hard to catch. All my Wyandottes complain loudly if i'm holding them, flapping and struggling the whole time (though they're perfectly content picking at my shoes, pants, shirt, etc.). I have one EE whom i can't catch to save my life, so i can't tell you how she acts when i hold her... Still i have one Gold Star (whom i've begun calling "disgruntled old bag") who is overly interested in things that may be edible, to say the least, she acts like she'd be perfect for a lap chicken, but if you catch her she'll tear a gash in your fingers like none other... I'm nursing an infected bite as we speak.

Then there's the rooster... He's never really been handled and never attacks. So far, this is the best i think i could ask from any rooster... But God forbid you have to CATCH him, you've never heard a chicken scream until you've heard this guy. I can tell when he's particularly annoyed because he makes this whiny squeaking (kinda like an air leak in a water raft) sound after i'm done doing whatever i'm doing.

Edited to say:

I'm always, always looking out for the "perfect pet chicken". HA! I'm trying not to hold my breath

 

[risurocket]

We got our chickens as chicks and handled them daily and had them in a high traffic area the whole time they were in the brooder. The brooder was also clear sided, so the chicks could see everything on the outside.

Now, full grown, most of them are very friendly, even if they are still a little more skittish being outside. It depends on the breed and how much time you spend with them. For instance, we babied our rooster and he still allows us to pick him up.

In another instance, we spoiled a hen that was full grown and originally outside, had to bring her into the house for recuperation and she turned into a lap chicken from being the most skittish of the lot outside. *shrug*

I really just think it depends on how you treat them and the general disposition of the breed, but there are always exceptions to every rule.

 

[rittert3]

I think i've heard alotof banty breeds tend to be easy to handle, I would go with hens because chickens arn't the only animal where the males tend to become human aggressive if "hand raised". I'm not saying that banties are the only chickens that make good pets. Good thread, keep it going.

 

[007Dawn]

We pick ours up all the time and when we are standing next to them we talk to them and pet their necks. They seem to like that. Most of them will move in closer to us BUT we have two that will NOT come at all. One is a small rooster who will run from you in a heart beat.

The second one I had feed for a long time and yet ye wants nothing to do with me or anyone or even most of the chickens, all but one chicken gets his affection.

Then we have one chicken that will peck everyone but me but that is because I use my finger and thump her on the head...in a pecking notion and she thinks I'm on the higher end of the pecking order...so I'm sure that works well! She went straight for my sons eyes yesterday! So I took him outside and showed him how to thump her in the head. She didn't like it but she wouldn't be pecking my boy's eyes again!

 

[jubylives]

Mine all coming running when they see me and will follow me around. It's hilarious and weird at the same time. Me walking around with 13 chickens tailing me. They are that way because of food. I give them food and they love me. They don't like to be picked up at all but will stay with me until they get snacks or realize I have nothing to give.

jeremy

 

[2DogsFarm]

I want to keep this thread going because then I won't feel so rejected when my 14wk old pullets run from me like I'm Death On Wheels

I got them at 9wks old and one looked like she'd be a lapchicken then - always glad to be picked up and held.
No muss, no fuss.

The other 4 were wary, but all (except the Hysterical Houdan) would eat anything I offered from my hands.

I made a practice of stroking them And even picking them up when they were roosting at night.
A sleepy chicken is not a fighter

I think we were making some progress, then I had work done on the coop and needed to relocate them to the garage for the day.
That was last Friday.

Since then I've been getting the Stinkeye if I so much as make a move in their direction.
They will still eat from my hand, well 4 of the 5 - the Houdan still is a Diva.
Petting is accepted but not without some under-the-breath muttering.

I can still pet them on the roost and even pick them up from there. Inside the coop I can get one picked up with much initial fluttering and protest, but once on my lap they settle right down even if they don't want to stay long.

These are my first chickens & although I'd like them to like me & act like pets, if they just give me eggs they can be as independent as they want