How to pet a chick?

[staceyc]

Hi there,

I have questions about socialization with my chicks! (The standard line "hey baby, what are you doing on Friday night" doesn't seem to be working!)

Here's the deal...I have two buff orpingtons who I got at about 4 weeks old...they are about 7 weeks now and I've moved them out to the ccop and they seem to be very happy. My run's not done yet so they are just in the coop, but it's nice and roomy for them, at 6x8, so I can go and hang out with them in there. They seem to have gotten friendlier since I moved them out of the brooder into the coop...curious and will come investigate what I'm doing when I'm working in there, even tolerant of my using power tools (I'm still building storage and separator panes and stuff). I have to be careful not to set my screws and drill bits down on the floor because they will come over and see if they are edible...I'd hate for them to eat a screw! Anyway ... so they come near me and will even occasionally walk on me, but don't like to be picked up. They will eat out of my hand, too ... but one of them, "Orprah," really hurts when she eats out of my hand! She doesn't just peck, she grabs a mouthful of crumble and fingers and yanks hard! I say "Ow!" and stop feeding them when she does that, but it doesn't seem to deter her from her aggressive eating style. Tips on that?

Second batch...10 days old now, five pullets in a brooder in my guest room. I got them at 2 and 3 days old. Americaunas, Barred Rock, and Dominiques. I figured that since I got them so young, I could super-socialize them and they would be like pets. But they are far more skittish than the Buffs, who didn't get a lot of early socialization! If I pick one up, it screams like bloody hell and the others go running to the other side of the brooder in terror and huddle together eyeing me like I'm going to kill them. I try to be as gentle as I can with the captured one ... I know they're delicate! I've read about how to pick them up ... scoop them from underneath and support them, then put a hand under their feet, and cup a hand over them, be careful not to let them flap enough that they damage their wings. Maybe I'm doing it wrong. After some freaking-out, they eventually go into kind of a fetal-chick position with their head tucked down, and they seem to relax. But they don't seem to enjoy any petting that I do of their heads or backs, and the minute I open my cupped hands, they go scurrying off and are then wary of me.

Three of them will eat out of my hand, but won't be lured onto me, and won't stay if I place them in my lap. The two Dominiques are just totally flighty.

Any suggestions for how I can build a better relationship with my chicks?? I feel like they don't like me!

P.S. I chose these breeds specifically because I had read they are generally mellow, gentle, pet-friendly breeds -- that was my #1 goal.

Thanks for your help and input!

 

[~*Sweet Cheeks*~]

Spend a lot of time just sitting and talking to them at the brooder. Move slow when you're cleaning, refilling food and water.

When my 10 chicks were 3 wks old I began grit and meal worms. They LOVED the meal worms and that was the beginning of them flying up onto the top of their brooder when I took the hardware cloth top off to see if I had more worms. They would fly onto my hands, arms and then onto my lap and back when I would bend over to replace the food and water.

They would then let me pick them up. I never lunged or grabbed them but moved slowly and gently picked them up and gently put them down.

All but one chick let me pick them up. The one EE hated being picked up and never liked being near my hands and never ate any snacks out of my hands.

My girls are now 20 1/2 wks old and I can still pick them up. One of my barred rocks and so far the only one laying (1 egg a day for the last 4 days) still flies up on my back when I'm out in the coop/run. I named her 'Babys Got Back'.

Oh - they like scrambled eggs soft and in tiny pieces like worms as much as the meal worms.

Good luck and enjoy your little ones.

 

[elmo]

I agree with the other advice already given (be patient, spend time with your chickens).

In addition, chickens are like every other living thing on this planet: each chicken is an individual with its own personality. It may be that the individuals you have aren't ones that desire closer interaction with humans. If that's the case, try to find a basis for having a relationship with these chickens that will be pleasant to both of you. They may not want to be petted, but maybe they'd enjoy learning tricks, or simply flying up to your lap for a treat.

Many (most?) chickens don't enjoy close interaction or cuddling with humans. Birds in general don't like to be petted, although some individuals do.

We have five hybrid Serama chicks that I've raised since hatching. If these are indicative of Seramas (which I have no way to know, since these are the only chickens I've ever had), Seramas are very amenable to handling. When we sit in their coop, three of the five will land in our laps (whether we want them there or not). The other two will come up only if we have treats for them.

 

[staceyc]

Thanks for the advice. I guess I felt like I was on a timetable because of all the posts that say that the only way to get them to accept handling is to start as early as possible. I know there are limitations to their "cuddlability," but I wanted to start them off right, especially because any animal could need to be handled for veterinary treatment later in life, and it sure makes it a lot easier if they tolerate it calmly. I also should have been clearer when I tried to say that when I decided to get chickens *for eggs*, the #1 reason I selected the breeds that I did is because they're also good with people ... I did not get them to primarily be pets -- that's what my dogs and cats are for!

I am pretty happy with the level of acceptance I've gotten out of my Buffs; I just wish Orprah wouldn't grab skin when she eats out of my hand. And it seems strange to me that the chicks have been so much warier than the older pullets that I got, when I know they weren't handled at the hatchery -- but the Buffs were still pretty young, and they are nice birds.

I'm backing off with handling the chicks. I imagine they'll come around.

 

[Quack Shack]

Great advice on luring them in with treats, however, no matter how much you may try, some birds will just decide they don't care to be up an personal. When that happens, I pick them up by their feet, let the seconds of squawking subside, pet their feathers, stroke their head and talk calmly as I tuck them under my arm. We then proceed to do some chores together and I give them a health checkup. I went thru months of that with my broody hen and now she'll trot up closer on her own for a treat and a feather inspection without having to do the chicken pose. I guess we bonded while she was in a snit and she knows I'm just not going to let her stay away.