How much can chicks take?

[HappyKat]

I have three kids 7 years old and younger. They are wild kids. Crazy, running around, tree climbing, knight-playing, busy busy kids.

I have a zero tolerance policy with any sort of non-desired behaviour with the animals (any of them - from my horse to my chicks - heck, even the fish have rules!).

When my chicks were teeny tiny, of of the kids would hold them too tightly. I showed, and showed, and showed,but every time, she squeezed too hard. So she would "loose" holding the chicks for that play period. She was allowed to sit, and let them come near her, but no holding. It really only took a few times to reinforce that I was serious about their behaviour.

I would suggest being VERY firm with your son. I would tell him exactly what he is allowed to do with the chickens. And if he does anything that is not allowed, he needs to "loose" the chickens (put the chickens away, send son in house, whatever). When teaching him HOW to interact with the chickens, I would suggest just picking one or two to work with at a time. Many chickens can be so overwhelming, and he may miss the lessons.

The other thing is total modeling, and talking about what you are doing while doing. "Do you see how she is running away from the flock? She is going the wrong way, and I need to direct her back to the flock and to the run. I'm walking calmly around her, to block her way back. See how she saw me? Now she is headed back to where she is supposed to be going."

I say this, as I caught my (very well trained and normally gentle with the hens) 7 year old kick (very very gently) a chicken. I lost it - sent him in to his room, and scooped up the chick and put her away. In discussing this with my son, it turns out he saw me "guiding" the chickens with my feet into their cage (I was blocking them from getting out), and he figured he could do the same.

He interpreted my guiding as kicking. We talked through that - I showed him how he can use his feet (get ahead of the chicken then stand still). My younger kids are not allowed to do that.

Kids are smart. Chasing the chickens is likely fun. My guys love to chase gulls at the dump, for example. Or pigeons who bother us on a picnic. But just because he wants too, doesn't mean he should be allowed to.

My 2 cents.

 

[ky chicks]

I 7 and 5 year old boys. They are also rowdy, strong-willed boys who are sometimes difficult to deal with. However, they never mistreat any animals. I have been very clear about how important it is to take care of our pets (and other critters we find), and if they do anything unkind to them, they lose privileges. Yes, my younger son chases a little when the girls freerange, but he's not running like a crazy thing--he just really wants to hold them. When he has one, he's very gentle. I would say that 7 is definitely old enough to understand about taking care of your animals. I would explain the rules, then not give any more warnings. If you see inappropriate behavior, remove him from the situation, reminding him why. He will either be nice, or never be with the chickens!

 

[Gwen]

You have some great advice here! And to answer your earlier question directly, no, I don't think letting him run with his hands out to catch the chickens is good at all. While the chickens learn to trust him (it may take a while because they won't be trusting of him at all right now due to past behaviours), he should sit quietly and wait for them to come to him.

 

[cmom]

My kids are grown up 43 and 40, but a friend brings his son over to the farm sometimes and he was chasing and playing rough with my chicks so I flat out told the boy and his dad that he can look but DON'T touch.

 

[LeghornLisa]

I have 2 girls, a 12 year old and 4 year old. Before my chicks arrived we had a family meeting on how to behave around the chicks. I explained that they had to be calm and quiet around the brooder and be very gentle with them. My chicks are 7 weeks old and I never leave my kids alone with them. They have done really well caring for them, however kids will be kids and I'm not going to risk anyone getting hurt. You might want to pick up a few books for your son about caring for them. I recommend a book by Gail Damerow it's titled "Your Chickens, A Kid's Guide to Raising and Showing" this is the book our local 4-H leader teaches out of and I find myself always refering back to it. Good luck

 

[jenni2142]

I consider myself lucky that my son age 13 is on the calmer side. He has loved the chicks from day one and is great with them. We have one OEG in the house at the moment that is about 1 year old, she was only few weeks old when we got her and an orphan. I had no other chicks even close in age and couldn't find any, so she was raised in the house with us and is very attached to my son. They even play a game he calls "chase the chicken", Millie immediately knows what that means and runs quickly through the house ducking into small areas while he crawls after, it's so funny to see her stop and check on his progress. I swear I can see her laughing when he gets stuck under the table trying to follow. Afterwards there is cuddling and treats in front of the tv. Chickens can be great fun when they trust you.

 

[77horses]

Not to sound mean or anything, but your son should NOT be treating the chickens like that and you should NOT be allowing him to. He is old enough to understand that treating animals with respect is very important, and if he hasn't learned that, then you, as a parent, should be teaching him. I don't care if he's your only child; that's no excuse for him to be treating the chickens(or any living thing) like that. You MUST be a parent and step in, because that abusive behavior could turn into something serious when he's older.

Teach him how to properly catch, hold, and release the chickens. This is what we do:


The best way to catch a chicken at first is to first get it in a place where it's not in wide open space; maybe with a wall or fence behind it or something. Slowly approach a chicken at a normal walk(no flapping arms, etc.). Do not make any sudden jumps, stomps, or anything else that can spook a chicken. Don't yell, talk, scream, or make any loud noises. When you get closer to the chicken, if it tries to run one way, spread your arms out wide and crouch, and quickly lean with one arm in that direction before the chicken gets past. This will cause it to try and go the other way. Lean the other way and block it again. Keep walking very slowly towards the chicken and right when it's holding still, take both hands and grab it gently but firmly. The chicken may scream and squirm to try and get away, so it's important to keep a gentle but firm hold on it. Wait until it calms down, then raise it up, put one arm around it(like a football, except it's closer to your chest than your side, and put the other hand on the front of the chicken's chest where the crop is to steady it. You can use this same hand to gently pat the chicken to calm it down. We usually like to talk to our chickens in a low voice and it seems to calm them down a lot. Hold the chicken for a while, not for too long or too short(maybe 5 minutes?) so it will have enough time to calm down and enjoy you holding it, but not too long that it gets uncomfortable for the chicken. When you put it down, you can either hold it with both hands like you did when you caught it and lower it to the ground, then release it and let it walk out from your hands, or let it stand on your one of your arms, lower it, and it it hop off on its own.
(TIP: When you first pick up a chicken, it may flap it's wings to try ad get away. This is why you must hold it firmly but gently so the wings are able to flap around. When it calms down, loosen your grip)
That's just one way; another way is more simple. Just simply get a cup of food, such as corn or whatever your chicken is fed(grass works well if your chickens love eating grass), and take a handful of the food and hold it out. Try calling the chickens over and see if they will eat from your hand. When they do, let them eat long enough that they seem to be comfortable nearby you, and when your hand is empty of foot quickly(but not too quickly, so you don't spook them all) gently but firmly grab one of the nearby chickens. While holding it, try seeing if it will eat from your hand once it has calmed down. This will help it trust you more and not feel fearful of you while you hold it.

I hope this will help with teaching your son to respect the chickens and all other living things!

 

[Judy]

Quote:
Short answer, no, nor would I do the same to my chickens. He needs to learn to teach the chickens to trust him.

You have some excellent advice in this thread, which should help you with a lot more than managing him around chickens.

 

[bawkbawkbawk]

This is why it's so great to have pets from the get-go with kids. I think one of the first words my boys understood was "gentle". When they were infants, we had a cat that wouldn't let anyone pick her up, but she became their "nanny", always sitting wherever the baby was. Initially, they pulled her fur and tail, and, remarkably, she allowed it, but they quickly learned with our guidance that animals are to be treated with gentle respect and affection.

Now that they're in college and a little awkward as far as demonstrating affection toward their parents, I'll often see one of them pick up a dog or a cat and bury their head in its fur, covering the pet with the kisses they feel too "macho" to give an adult.

Your son is not too young by any means to learn the responsibilities and the pleasures of having animals. If he really has no history of being around pets, you'll have to work with him, but he should never be permitted to treat them like inanimate objects. If he wants to throw something, give him a football.

 

[Chicksdigit]

My neighbors 18 month old daughter was just over at my house and I let her hold a 4 week old chick she was very gentle and carried it around for a little while never mistreating the chick at any time..... she was under constant supervision but the results were the same she was very gentle. At 7 years old a child should be able to help care for the chickens help feed, help water help clean out the pen. I didn't say do it I did say help. He should also have a healthy respect for the chickens. I am not being critical but hopefully helpful. He is old enough to understand. He most likely can read and write on a rudimentary level, therefore he is capable of understanding reason. Unless he is challenged in some manner, he is acting out and needs correction.
A person that mistreats animals may grow up to mistreat people.