Human reliant chick

[Rose Quartz]

I know this is a weird problem to have, but I bought a pair of chicks at 8 weeks old. They were in the persons house and trained to fly out of their brooder on to shoulders. Which, sure is fine, I like a friendly chicken as much as the next person. The boy has figured out how to chicken, just like the rest of my flock. He goes out in the morning, hangs out with the others his age and forages. The girl however runs around crying all day, lost and in a panic. She follows any human outside, to the point of tripping, and has no clue that inside the coop is a good idea at night, or that it's where the food is.

When they came here I moved all of them in with my adult flock, because they were 8 weeks and should be fine. Which all of the others are they've integrated well, she doesn't seem to be picked on any more than any of the other babies. But just locking her in for a few days isn't going to work. They're fine because they're let out and separate during the day.

I suggested to my son, who's chicken it is, that we find her a better home with someone who really wants a chicken that needs humans all the time, but he doesn't want to do that. She was bought as a replacement for his favorite hen who died last year.

Is there anything I can do to try to train her to fend for herself? I know a broody would chase her off, but I'm worried she'd get lost if I tried that. She's polish and seems to not be able to see well even after a significant hair cut.

I do have a smaller coop I could put her and a couple of chicks in, but I don't want to have to retrain them all to the big coop again. Not saying I wouldn't try this but if there's another option, I'd rather try that first.

eta: all I really want is for her to go in the coop at night, but I can't convince her to go in when I go in there and call her.

 

[Acre4Me]

Put her in the coop when it is dark. She cannot see, she will roost. You may have to do this for several/many days. Once hormones kick in and she begins to lay, she will likely be a part of the flock, just fine.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I see two options:

1. Put her in the coop and let her eventually "cry" it out and adjust, if she will. It will take time.

2. Put another buddy in with her in a smaller coop and reintroduce her when she is older.

Option no. 2 is kinder and gentler and likely will help her adjust.

Option no. 1 can work, especially if after dark. But some chickens just have a hard time fitting in. Being a lap pet didn't do her any favors with adjusting to the flock.

LofMc

 

[Rose Quartz]

Ok, thanks guys. She does have a friend she came with from her original home. I'll keep putting her in at night until she catches on like everyone else has. She at least didnt come running to me this morning when they were let out.

Im worried moving her to a different pen will untrain the friends i put with her, and i dont want to have a bunch of chicks that need to be caught every night. So i'll keep doing it the normal way and hope she catches on.

 

[K0k0shka]

She may be clingy because of her personality, or because of her upbringing, or because not being able to see well is making her feel insecure and on constant alert. Or not being able to see is exacerbating the other issues. These breeds with the feathers obscuring their vision, I think it's really inhumane to breed them like that just for human amusement. It handicaps the animal, makes it vulnerable to bullying, predation, or just a life of constant fear and insecurity because they can't see well. In addition to the other suggestions, I'd also suggest cutting her crest off completely. Defeats the purpose of having a Polish, yeah, but this particular chicken is already at a disadvantage, so think about her needs first. Maybe by the time it grows back, she will have figured out how to fend for herself, and will be able to manage life with a crest, but if she's still acting insecure, or if the crest growing back starts to cause problems, then keep it cut down.

 

[Dharmachick]

I put my polish girl's head feathers in a pony tail.

 

[Rose Quartz]

I put my polish girl's head feathers in a pony tail.

Yeah i trim mine on a regular basis.

 

[PNWskye]

Do you have an update? I have a needy chick too. It cries all the time for my daughter who loves to be “needed” the chick.