just a question about chicken imprinting?

[peep this]

so its because i take care of them? and they think that i am like a protector?

 

[centrarchid]

They recognize you as a source of resources they want. If you hand raised them, they could very easily be bonded to you. The protector business is much like they treat each other other as member of same flock where safety is in numbers.

 

[wildeflowers]

Quote:
yeahhhh, this sort of thing is happening to me right now. I don't know if it's truly imprinting or I just happen to be the one to interact with this chick right now. She's hurt and in the house to recover. I brought her out of the crate for some social time tonight and she was crawling all over me and preening my hair. Of course, she pecked my nose, too. Ouch. lol

I am not going to anthropomorphize here. I think if you started acting ugly towards them they would in their chicken way start disliking you as fast as they started liking you. I think they know that they can trust you and you are the giver of good things, food, warmth and pats. So no, I don't think it's just about food, but it is part of the uniquely chicken social structure.