I'm a flipping awesome chickie mom, but they don't care!

NIMBY on the roos, not allowed in town. If I get a crower we will have to relocate the bugger.
 
Mine were like that when I first started. You don't think you are making an impact but you are! My two friendliest chicks are the two I brooded. They come up and eat from my hands a lot more than the others. I think this is because I raised them. Don't fret! The impact is cumulative. When they are about 9 weeks you won't seem so scary to them anymore and they will explore more! For now picking them up even if they do try to run away is something I try to do. I think the more I pick them up the more they get used to the idea and makes when their 20 weeks and 5 months old a lot easier!!
 
I have some info on my BYC page about taming chicks. Go there and look at the pics, too. They'll love you too; just be consistant...
 
It is instinct for birds to run if anything comes over your head or reaches down for you.

I can even trick my old hens who don't like to be held by giving them corn from my hands and then flipping my hand over quickly and putting it flat on their foot to hold them in place. If I am standing, I can't catch them for the life of myself.
 
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Aww, you chickies are so cute! Thank you for the info
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when i first started out with chicks, i had the same issues. I found three things worked really well:

1) sit with them alot...get them used to you and your hand. I raised my chicks in a big watermelon box from a local store, and i'd sit in the box with them so they couldnt get away but would check me out on their own term.
2) treats, treats and more treats gains trust. I got them to assocaite my hand with treats...though you should have seen there face the first time it didnt have a treat in it!
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3) I picked my chicks up everyday...yes, everyday...dispite the screaming like murder at first. At 8 months, they are trained to come by name and i can just walk up and pick any of them up, including my roo (how many people can say that!?!) !
 
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When I pick them up to go outside or to come in I hold all three to my chest until they quiet down before I put them where I want them. How long every day do you hold your chicks?
 
It depended on how much time i had and how they behaved that day...i tried to give each chick at least 5 mins of being held...i always made a point to hold all of them at least once a day (a little experiment to see if it would affect behavior and possibly give me nice roos...it did, despite what everyone else says about showing roos attention... At 8months, I've only been challenged once...i have mellow roosters...no growling or flogging...nada
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). My chicks only gave me trouble around the 12 week mark...They were more figety than normal (they wouldnt run from me, but would act like they hated being picked up until they were in my arms and falling asleep while being pet). They grew out of that by week 16. Many months later, i have mellow and loving birds who come by name
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