How to make chicks cuddly and pettable? Feeling discouraged...

[abenardini]

Thanks for all the encouragement guys, but it seems I failed. The trio who are 3-4 weeks old has moved outside into the run a few days ago with my first batch of chicks who are 6 weeks old and are integrating well together.

My first batch of chicks became less skittish around me after they moved into the run as they would crowd near me for treats, but they still won't let me touch them or pick them up. The second batch are super skittish and want nothing to do with me even if I toss food for them on the floor, which made me really sad with all the effort I put in for them. They'll only eat if I leave and similar to the first batch, they do not want to be touched or picked up.

So at the end of the day I chalk it up to failure on my part for not socializing properly with them while they were still in the brooder. I'm hoping they would warm up to me overtime similar to my first batch and maybe, fingers crossed, when they start laying eggs they become more friendly and allow me to at least touch them.

I'm taking a different approach with my third (fourth?) batch of chicks and will be handling them daily for at least an hour everyday and allowing them to wander outside the brooder with me there.

If I still get skittish chicks after their old enough to move out then I'll just accept that I'm cursed to never have any pettable chickens.

I wouldn't think of this as a failure and it is not too late to have birds that want to be handled for those you have now. It will just take patience and time. There have been times where I've moved birds to a coop and had to sit there with them for 30-45 minutes before they'd come hang with me. I wouldn't describe being able to handle or have chickens sit with you / on you as "petable." With my experience, chickens won't like being petted like a cat or dog or small animal. They like finger scratches sometimes under the beak or behind the head, but petting is sometimes meh for them because of their feathers. They probably can't feel it if you stroke their feathers anyway. Good luck and we'll be here if you need help

 

[Chickassan]

I'm going to probably catch a little flack for this and please don't take this the wrong way but the breeds you have I've never had be super friendly.
I'm not saying they're aren't exceptions to the rules I'm sure they're out there.
Maybe next time go with a breed that leans more towards being a bird that seeks out human contact and enjoys it.
I always try to steer folks who want to have lap birds towards Faverolles they're weird but a decent percentage actually like being handled, bonus they're soft feathered so it's like you're petting a muppet.
Seriously I can't sit down in my yard without one in my lap and a couple under my arms they'll actually seek you out for attention in multiples if you raise them with care like you seem to be trying to do with your broods.
So maybe it isn't you, maybe it's them.
Again nothing against those breeds they're perfect but just in my own experience they didn't make lap hens at all.

Thanks for all the encouragement guys, but it seems I failed. The trio who are 3-4 weeks old has moved outside into the run a few days ago with my first batch of chicks who are 6 weeks old and are integrating well together.

My first batch of chicks became less skittish around me after they moved into the run as they would crowd near me for treats, but they still won't let me touch them or pick them up. The second batch are super skittish and want nothing to do with me even if I toss food for them on the floor, which made me really sad with all the effort I put in for them. They'll only eat if I leave and similar to the first batch, they do not want to be touched or picked up.

So at the end of the day I chalk it up to failure on my part for not socializing properly with them while they were still in the brooder. I'm hoping they would warm up to me overtime similar to my first batch and maybe, fingers crossed, when they start laying eggs they become more friendly and allow me to at least touch them.

I'm taking a different approach with my third (fourth?) batch of chicks and will be handling them daily for at least an hour everyday and allowing them to wander outside the brooder with me there.

If I still get skittish chicks after their old enough to move out then I'll just accept that I'm cursed to never have any pettable chickens.

 

[Farmgirl1878]

I'm going to probably catch a little flack for this and please don't take this the wrong way but the breeds you have I've never had be super friendly.
I'm not saying they're aren't exceptions to the rules I'm sure they're out there.
Maybe next time go with a breed that leans more towards being a bird that seeks out human contact and enjoys it.
I always try to steer folks who want to have lap birds towards Faverolles they're weird but a decent percentage actually like being handled, bonus they're soft feathered so it's like you're petting a muppet.
Seriously I can't sit down in my yard without one in my lap and a couple under my arms they'll actually seek you out for attention in multiples if you raise them with care like you seem to be trying to do with your broods.
So maybe it isn't you, maybe it's them.
Again nothing against those breeds they're perfect but just in my own experience they didn't make lap hens at all.

I don’t know, my Barnevelder, Shirley Partridge, is all about my hands. And feet. And she’s giving my the stink eye because she can’t quite get up to my shoulder yet… I’m retired, so I have the luxury of time. I spend at least a few hours a day with my Flockers, so they all get lots of time to adjust to the “treat dispenser” sitting around inside the run, cleaning the coop, or just following them around the woods.

 

[Chickassan]

I just get the feeling maybe the OP might be looking for a hen that they can scoop up and get the cat/dog experience just with a hen.
Those breeds I said never made lap hens I was being literal.
They had no issues with shoulders or anything but I'd never been able to flop one out on my lap and squish feathers like Miss Dastardly here does.
Keep in mind I didn't pick her up either this breed initiates stuff like this.
So yes, the breeds were plenty freindly but not my definition of a lap hen.
These guys just have set the bar high is all.

I don’t know, my Barnevelder, Shirley Partridge, is all about my hands. And feet. And she’s giving my the stink eye because she can’t quite get up to my shoulder yet… I’m retired, so I have the luxury of time. I spend at least a few hours a day with my Flockers, so they all get lots of time to adjust to the “treat dispenser” sitting around inside the run, cleaning the coop, or just following them around the woods.
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[Chicken poppy]

I don’t know, my Barnevelder, Shirley Partridge, is all about my hands. And feet. And she’s giving my the stink eye because she can’t quite get up to my shoulder yet… I’m retired, so I have the luxury of time. I spend at least a few hours a day with my Flockers, so they all get lots of time to adjust to the “treat dispenser” sitting around inside the run, cleaning the coop, or just following them around the woods.
View attachment 3145637

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Oh my gosh. Im in love. I NEED HER. RIGHT NOW! She looks like my Emmy!

Her little cotton ball and forehead !!

 

[Chicken poppy]

Okay, well. I really am not one to talk because im no expert. But my chickens snuggle with me for hours on end, and love to sit in your lap and hang out. I guess i really just treated them like a human baby, really. I was very calm, mellow, and loving around them. And i hatched them out of eggs, so that might have made a difference aswell. I sit out with them 24/7 and that is literally, no joke, my whole day consumed.

While i do think breed (and highly upon the individual chicken aswell) affects the personality, its also very much so how the human acts around them. A while back i looked up how to pick up a chicken, (out of curiosity from other responses) and one response said to grab a net, sneak up behind them, scoop them up and grab them.
That tells you lots of people clearly don’t have a good bond with their chickens, enough for them to feel comfortable to get close to them. Where as mine (and lots of others!) come up to you directly and hop in your lap.

 

[fatty and friends]

the problem is you don’t spend enough time with them. 30 minutes isn’t anywhere near enough to get them to trust you. i spent all day with my ducks when they were young and 3 years later i still spend hours a day with them to keep them friendly

 

[Chicken poppy]

the problem is you don’t spend enough time with them. 30 minutes isn’t anywhere near enough to get them to trust you. i spent all day with my ducks when they were young and 3 years later i still spend hours a day with them to keep them friendly

Yes. Not even kidding here when i say i get out there around 6:00 AM and head in around 8:00, sometimes 9:00!

Thats about 16 hours a day right there just with chickens. Thats the whole day!

 

[Farmgirl1878]

Oh my gosh. Im in love. I NEED HER. RIGHT NOW! She looks like my Emmy! View attachment 3148926Her little cotton ball and forehead !!

She’s such a good momma! I was a little concerned because she’s at the bottom of the pecking order, but she’s fought off the more aggressive Brahmas and keeps her chicklets warm and well fed like a champ!

 

[Ascholten]

Im late to this party but well, here goes.
Talk to then, be nice, tell them how pretty they are and pet them when they come close to you. Having food is always a benefit.

Mine will come up to me, Ill reach down and they'll submit and Ill give them a good ruffling and tail tug and they love it. I can reach down and pet them a bit, I will pick them up and talk to them when I scold them. They give me the look of Ok Hooman then go right back to what they were doing when I picked them up.

it takes time, they need to get used to you. Some birds NEVER will let you do this. I have one that is very skittish, and even after watching the others get hand fed berries and stuff, still rarely comes up to me. It's just the way some are. I have others that the untrained eye would say is attacking me when i come out first thing in the morning. She's not attacking she's wanting to see what I brought for her. She will literally jump straight up trying to get a look in my hands, it's pretty funny.

On the lap, sometimes they will sit on my lap and let me pet them a few minutes then hop off the moment something catches their attention. Other times Ill pick up two at once, they will literally be right next to each other and ill grab them one hand on each side with their other sides against each other and pick up the pair and I will give them like mini airplane rides saying oh look it's chickenzilla destroying jacksonville !! Yah, they tolerate me sometimes...

How long does it take? Hard to say, Big red I got at about a year and a half old and she took to me right away, though her original owner just had her in a huge pen with about 30 others and did not spend any 'family time' with them. the other 3 I got as probably 8 weeks old, and two of them it only took about a week for the to ping on me and maybe 3 weeks to be feathered leg magnets. The other one, never did.

Don't give up on them, don't rush it and above all, don't feel bad if you get one or two who won't warm up to you, after all they are wimmin and you know how finiky those creatures are!!

PS - Jealousy works wonders for smarter birds like Cockatoos, but chickens are pretty indifferent Ive seen, except maybe a rooster but that's a different .. oh wait.. the cockatoo... never mind... Trying jealousy as a tool of behavior modification, may get your ass beat, by SEVERAL species'

Aaron