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Dieseldog

Dieseldog

In the Brooder
5 Years
Jul 15, 2014
19
0
32
Western Massachusetts
Just finished the small coop and run. After a lot of research I seem to have located the two Buff Orpingtons and two Light Brahmas that I want. With some luck they will be in the coop today.
I am in Western Mass and am looking forward to this new hobby. I do have one question that I will also post elsewhere. The two Light Brahmas are three months old. Is that too old to be able to get them to like being held? Thanks, Jim
 
Greetings from Oregon!
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Treats work wonders when getting your chickens to become accustomed to you. Dried mealworms did the trick for me!
 
Hello there and welcome to BYC!
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Congrats on your new flock! Generally chickens don't like to be held. They enjoy sitting on your lap, some enjoy face and head scratches and of course they love to give you attention! There are some chickens that do like to picked up and held, but you would have had to work with them as babies. Chickens really don't like when their feet leave the ground. But you can still tame up your new birds easily and get them lap sitting in no time.

Go out with some treats and sit on the ground with them. Sit against something so you can extend your legs. This way they can get on you but not too close. Sprinkle the treats around you, and hold them in your hands. But give them time. This can take a while, depending on how human friendly they already are. Move slowly around them, don't try to pick them up for a couple weeks until they are sure you are not a predator. Just go slow with them and don't rush them to love you. They will come around with daily sitting with them and before you know it, you will have a bunch of lap sitters. Start slow with gentle touching and petting and they will warm up to you soon. :)

Enjoy this new adventure you are on and welcome to our flock!
 
Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.


Chickens acutely should be held right from the start. This will insure that they are tame. Now that your's are older, you should not only cuddle them but also hand feed them, talk to them and maybe even train them to follow you.
 
Welcome to BYC! The good news is that both Buff Orpingtons and Light Brahmas are naturally calm and gentle breeds and will likely respond less vigorously to being handled than most other breeds will. Still, at 3 months old, you will need to be patient with them and put some of the suggestions that the other BYC members have given you into practice, and I think they will come around. I've had both breeds (still have BOs) and my children, and now my granddaughter, made pets of them. Good luck with your flock.
 

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