How to tame chicks (teaching them to not be afraid of you)

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Wow 39! That's 30 more than I have!
topdog24 said:
Food and calm is the answer for me, no sudden moves, I would take my chicks feeder out to clean it, leave it our for awhile, before putting it back, i would fill my hand with feed and lay my hand inside the brooder on the floor, the chicks ate off of my hand until they learned to trust me, then they jumped up on my hand and ate, after about 4 or 5 days, they come to the door when i would approach them, they would jump up on my empty hand and actually fight over getting to set on my hand, i then placed a 1 x 1 strip of wood in the brooder and set them on it one by one until they would stay on it, then i added more and they were roosting before 2 weeks old, i can handle all 39 of my chicks.
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We have 29 chicks. I don't handle them much because I have 4 kids and I have to have strict ruled so the chicks don't get over handled. We sit in their run when I take them out. As we sit with them and be calm they get closer and closer to us. So this is how we are working on taming them. I also picked breeds that were docile because with 4 kids I thought it best.
 
I have 3 Plymouth Rocks and two are quite tame. They squawk a bit when I pick them up but then they calm down. HOWEVER, the third one is such a terror! She was the smaller of the three and I called her the runt queen haha. It is hard for me to catch her as she runs away from my hand! I try to move slow but end up chasing her a bit in order to catch and hold her! I don't want to chase her but am trying to hold her every day so that she gets used to me. :S
 
novastar said:
I have 3 Plymouth Rocks and two are quite tame. They squawk a bit when I pick them up but then they calm down. HOWEVER, the third one is such a terror! She was the smaller of the three and I called her the runt queen haha. It is hard for me to catch her as she runs away from my hand! I try to move slow but end up chasing her a bit in order to catch and hold her! I don't want to chase her but am trying to hold her every day so that she gets used to me. :S
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if you have time to sit near her with some food, that may help. Sometimes I am in a hurry too. I have a small dog crate I put them all in to move them in and out of the their brooder with. I put a little chick food in there so they feel a little more comfortable. When I have a hard time catching them I put the crate in there for them to go into then I herd them toward it and nudge them in. Not sure if this idea or something similar to it would help you with your chickens.
 
novastar said:
I have 3 Plymouth Rocks and two are quite tame. They squawk a bit when I pick them up but then they calm down. HOWEVER, the third one is such a terror! She was the smaller of the three and I called her the runt queen haha. It is hard for me to catch her as she runs away from my hand! I try to move slow but end up chasing her a bit in order to catch and hold her! I don't want to chase her but am trying to hold her every day so that she gets used to me. :S
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This may seem kinda loony, but if all else fails, try to make yourself small around your chickens, if you were approached by an animal that is 50 times your size, that would probably strike every fear nerve in your body, put yourself in her place! maybe taking an old rolled up sheet or towel and roll it out on the ground and lay down on it near them, you wont appear so large and this will reduce the fear quiet a bit, in fact, a lot of different animal handlers use this technique to train animals, even horses and they are about eye level with most people, imagine staring into a pair eyes that were 10 times taller than you, you would most likely run for your life, most animals do make eye contact, especially dogs and cats and probably chickens
 
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