Ok, so I'm not new to birds, but I have only hatched 3 times in the last 10 years, and have forgotten all the little things I knew from hatching 3 years straight 15 years ago. I hatched, and hatched, and hatched some more and got to be pretty well versed in all things eggs and chick related. Then I became a grown up, moved out on my own, and waited patiently until I could have chickens.
Had some last year when I thought my husband was going to be out of the Army, he wasn't yet, moved again, now he's out, and I have birds again.
I have 3 2 week old chicks right now, and some more due in a week. They seem to be getting flighty. They started out "tame" enough, I showed them food, and water, and held them a little, and gave them a momma skunk to cuddle with. I visit 2-3 times a day to pull shavings out of the water and make sure their feed level is good. I make it a point to hold the known boy frequently, but he's still getting shy.
The breed is Golden Lakenvelder, known to be a bit flighty anyways. So do I need to hold them a lot more than I am currently to grow them into adults I can just pick up off the ground?
Last year, I bought POL aged birds, and tamed them down. The rooster would fly to my lap, and his hen would too, just to sit with me. No food offered! They came from a large batch, so I highly doubt they had a lot of handling. They were Old English Game, a variety I always had in the past and they were always great pets.
Right now I have two Red Star and they were highly handled Easter chicks. They're about the best pet chickens I have ever had. My goal is to have all my birds be like them. The rest of the flock... are not like that. The Spanish think I'm out to get them, though if I sit quiet and talk to them they don't mind. The Astralorp and New Hampshire are highly food motivated and have figured out I'm the key for food, but they don't want to just hang out with me. They're gone as soon as the food is.
So my question, if you have a known flighty breed, how often are you holding them to make pets of them? Do you bring them to the couch to watch TV and cuddle? Do you tote them around with you? Or do you just visit at the brooder and that proves to be enough to make a lasting impression?
All I remember is having exceedingly sweet roosters, large batches of chicks, but all turned out tame, much like the pair of OE I bought as adults. But I also had Frizzle, Cochins, Aurocana, Seabrights in both colors, Black Rosecomb, Silkies, and some others. All tame.
Do I need to be holding these little guys once a day or three times a day to keep them tame?
Had some last year when I thought my husband was going to be out of the Army, he wasn't yet, moved again, now he's out, and I have birds again.
I have 3 2 week old chicks right now, and some more due in a week. They seem to be getting flighty. They started out "tame" enough, I showed them food, and water, and held them a little, and gave them a momma skunk to cuddle with. I visit 2-3 times a day to pull shavings out of the water and make sure their feed level is good. I make it a point to hold the known boy frequently, but he's still getting shy.
The breed is Golden Lakenvelder, known to be a bit flighty anyways. So do I need to hold them a lot more than I am currently to grow them into adults I can just pick up off the ground?
Last year, I bought POL aged birds, and tamed them down. The rooster would fly to my lap, and his hen would too, just to sit with me. No food offered! They came from a large batch, so I highly doubt they had a lot of handling. They were Old English Game, a variety I always had in the past and they were always great pets.
Right now I have two Red Star and they were highly handled Easter chicks. They're about the best pet chickens I have ever had. My goal is to have all my birds be like them. The rest of the flock... are not like that. The Spanish think I'm out to get them, though if I sit quiet and talk to them they don't mind. The Astralorp and New Hampshire are highly food motivated and have figured out I'm the key for food, but they don't want to just hang out with me. They're gone as soon as the food is.
So my question, if you have a known flighty breed, how often are you holding them to make pets of them? Do you bring them to the couch to watch TV and cuddle? Do you tote them around with you? Or do you just visit at the brooder and that proves to be enough to make a lasting impression?
All I remember is having exceedingly sweet roosters, large batches of chicks, but all turned out tame, much like the pair of OE I bought as adults. But I also had Frizzle, Cochins, Aurocana, Seabrights in both colors, Black Rosecomb, Silkies, and some others. All tame.
Do I need to be holding these little guys once a day or three times a day to keep them tame?