I'm disappointed with my chickens

[17roses]

I know that it doesnt work this way with most animals but in my experience the less I hold / pet them, the better they like me. I have a chicken that flies up to my shoulder and rides around with me as I do the chores and I did not try to make her a pet. Most of my chickens will eat out of my hand. They have learned that I wont chase them around and dont hold them unless necessary.
When I give treats I put them at my feet. The closer they come, the more they get. My "pet" chicken learned that she will get more than anyone else if she eats out of the cup I am holding. So my advice is patiently ignore them and feed the most treats to the closest ones, after a week offer the cup to the closest and dont give up if it doesnt work. Be sure to have a call that tells them food is here and never misuse the call. Last bit of info: they love grasshoppers if you are not afraid to touch bugs.

 

[sheeshshe]

well I do have a call to have them come

last night I wanted them in the coop for bed so I went outside and yelled.... "coopcoopcoopcoopcoop" LOL and then RAN LOL! and then they got their nightly snack in their coop.

but no picking up from me

perhaps they are sore from their feathers coming in... they do have a lot of new ones coming in it seems.

I really hope they come around.. they are buff orpingtons and cinnamon queens.

 

[smoothmule]

They grow up and change just like our own kids do but as they mature, they will start paying more attention to you for food. Do they come into the coop on their own at night? Be there waiting with treats and don't feed outside the coop for now. They will associate coming in at night with you and food. Put a little chair in the coop to just sit and watch them for now. There will be some who are not as friendly again and some that will mature into your favorite pets. If you can go out at the same time every evening, around the time they would come in anyway, they will start watching for you and come running when you go out to head for the coop. If you go out too early and they aren't ready to go in, some of them will run for the hills trying to avoid being put to bed too early so try to make your timing a little after they go in by themselves at first then adjust your time to just a few minutes before they go in on their own.

There will be one or two that want to be rebels and run away when they think they wil be closed up but if you close them out to feed, that doesn't last for long. They're smart little critters, you just have to learn to outwit them.

 

[elmo]

Think about it from a chicken's point of view. Being held or picked up is similar to being grabbed by a predator, it's their instinct to avoid it. This instinct may be weaker in some individuals, making them more amenable to being held, and most birds can learn to accept or tolerate something if you're persistent and patient about teaching them.

Some birds I know hate being picked up but are fine with perching on you, if it's their choice. I've noticed one of my chicks has started to hate being picked up, but she'll still sit on my lap when I hold the mealworm cup. Of course, I always have to remember to put a towel on my lap, because it always seems everybody likes to deposit their cecal poops up there (blech).

 

[AmyRey]

Your chickens are teenagers. They hate the sound of your breathing right now.

I'm betting that they'll come around.

My kids are sharing your frustration too. Just last night, in fact, our youngest DS (12) was trying to catch one so that he could hold it and make it tamer. Mind you, the "catching" part was doing EXACTLY the opposite of the "holding" part. A bit counterproductive, if you ask me. lol

But he's almost a teenager, so (of course) I had no idea what I was talking about.

 

[cmom]

Quote:
So true!!!

 

[77horses]

Same here! Cinnamon, my Red Star hen, if she was in the caged run area and I came walking to the coop, would run right over to the coop door, go up the ramp, and right when I opened the big door to the coop, she would always be waiting to see me when I opened it. Maybe because she wanted to go outside and eat grass, which she loves, or maybe because she just likes it when I visit her. But for some reason, now that our RIR rooster, her friends, and her go outside to free range all day, rain or shine, she acts more skittish and doesn't come running to the door anymore.

And what's worse is that I used to stick clumps of grass through the caged run area and she would be right there eating it all before anyone else, but now she only comes when all the other chickens are there first. Sure, she's still friendly and will let me pick her up, but has just changed ever since all of the free ranging.

 

[sheeshshe]

Quote:
ROFL!

too funny.





I really do hope they come around! I feel sad for my 4y old because he can't play with his favorite anymore ya know?

 

[77horses]

It would be reasonable if she was still young, but she is past that stage and is already a year old.

 

[Ghostchick]

Quote:
Mine love cut up apples and the go crazy over any pasta or mashed potatoes.