how to cuddle a chicken?

[emilyann]

Do your birds have certain favourite ways of being petted or cuddled? My Big Girls seem to like having their necks stroked with their feathers and thats about it. Just curious as I have baby cochins at the moment that I am trying to handle alot so they are friendly and confident around hands.
Would value any advice on how to handle them and have them be cuddly pets

 

[birdlover]

With baby chicks, I would just pick them up a lot and hold them with one hand under their feet and one hand over them to assure they don't jump down and get hurt. Also, offer them treats with your hands. They will soon see your hands as something positive although I've found that each has a different personality and some don't EVER like being held.

 

[debilorrah]

My juveniles like to be held like a football and stroke under their chins down their necks, most of the others like this too, except they are harder to hold. The ones we raised let us hold them with no fuss.

 

[gritsar]

Don't come at them from above. Birds don't like things that grab at them from up high, like a predator would do.
When I want to pick up one of my hens I kneel down first so that they can see it's just me picking them up.

 

[DTchickens]

mine like being petted under the chin, down their neck. and fingers rubbed across their combs/top of their head, not just mine either. anyones chickens i've come across and been able to pick up

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
Yep yep, me too

 

[RobotChicken]

My hands are just treat bringers or, ah, "roosters" to them, otherwise they dont seem to like contact with me.

 

[Chick_a_dee]

I hold them like a football (lol) and you have to stroke under their chins like you would with a cat haha. I wouldn't kneel down to get mine okay with me, omg, they'd peck my face off! ... they already insist on pecking my pant legs when I go in, and once I got a little too close to Hank's beak when she pecked at a piece of stray hair that was dangling infront of my face, it was hilarious in a way, her neck got all huge and tall and she was like 3 feet high, and then just zoomed in and pecked at it.

 

[emilyann]

My hands are just treat bringers or, ah, "roosters" to them, otherwise they dont seem to like contact with me.

I still get all weirded out when my big hens squat. Silly tarts!


many thanks for the great replies, I stupidly hadnt thought of coming at the from the side instead of from above like a creature of doom, my poor little babies!​

 

[black404]

When I call everyone for treats, my Christina runs to me and tries to jump up into my arms...

She want to be the first to get treats and pick over the treat selection. It is sooo funny. I have to make her get down from my arm.

Imagine a big sex linked come running as fast as she can then jumps up and tries to sit on my arm like a pigeon.