Little treats and friendliness

[doghamstyluv95]

how old do they have to be before i give them little treats like bread and such? mine are about 5 days old and i have grit to give them.

i would also like to know how to get them used to you. for example my BR loves me and so does my speckled sussex. my RIR i also pretty good and so is my buff brahma, but my SLW and GLW and Golden campine arent so friendly and neither is my black australorp the rest of them are ok with me

 

[Jsto]

How funny, my SLW and Golden Camp are the friendliest of my bunch

Originally, my two Black Stars were a little weary of me, but I just insisted on showing them attention and they've come around quite a bit. Now the biggest will pop on over and roost on my hand, without a care. Since I've gotten them, I'll just go sit by the brooder with my hand hanging in and I think that's one of the biggest reasons they've gotten so used to me.

 

[Judymae]

You should really wait until they are about 4-5 weeks old before you give them any treats. Mashed up egg yolks are really good for them and they love it. If you feed treats from your hand they will love you quicker. They are like my kids--feed them and they will come!

 

[mainely-chick]

They all have their own personalities. Some come to you whether you have food or not, some only at feeding, and some stubborn ones could care less about you and will never come.

 

[MTchick]

Their personalities change with time. My SLWs were really shy chicks and are shaping up to be very bold, friendly, personable hens. Don't worry too much about it- just move slowly, provide treats, and talk softly. They will love you soon enough.

-MTchick

 

[iopele]

It seemed like my chicks went from being terrified of me to loving me all at once. I worked with them daily and gave them crumbled egg yolks (and after they started catching moths fluttering around their light, I admit I caught a few and gave them extras, lol) by hand, but they were really scared of me until about 4 days ago. Then suddenly, it's like it clicked for them--this weird looking hen with the big featherless hands gives us GOOD STUFF. And then they started coming running when I'd walk over!

Keep with it, and don't get discouraged if they don't seem to be warming up at first.

 

[JamieandShady]

I too was worried my chicks would never warm up to me. I got them all together one day and took them outside (I live in TX- warm) in a makeshift run. I got in the run with them and sat down and just spent time with them. They got over their shyness pretty quickly. They also love in when you root around in the dirt with them.

My chicks were about 2-2.5 weeks old when I did this. They are now very friendly and run over to me when they see me.

 

[siouxbee]

I'm not sure this is the right way to do things, but my girls seem to be thriving so...

I've had them outside during the day since it's been warm -- and in fact I have to give them shade, so I know they're defintely staying warm enough. I bring them in when it starts to cool down in the early evening.

They aren't super interested in human food treats at this point, tho I have crumbled up a very wholesome sprouted grain slice of bread. They weren't too into it tho. What they love love love is when I work in our garden or flower beds and find grubs and other bugs for them. The one week olders are just starting to figure that out, but the older girls, four weeks old already!, are all over that, and have been for about two weeks or so. One day my son and I found probably 40+ grubs. We would get enough so everyone could have one, go over to their makeshift pen (ooh, but our tractor is almost done after this long weekend!) and put our hand in with the grubs. The girls went mad, and soon after would come running whenever we came near the pen.

This weekend I'd sit in the pen with them (only after I moved it to a "fresh" location, if ya know what I mean) and since we've been working on the tractor and coop, the grass was sooo long it had seeds on it. I picked apart the seed heads and put them on the flat of my palm. The girls would come over and eat them out of my hand. After a few minutes, some of them would come and sit on my legs. I was thrilled. Since my kids (3 and 6 yo) spend a lot of time chasing them despite my admonitions, I had figured the girls would be terrified of people. They also like when I find dandelion seed heads that haven't puffed out yet, and open them up so they can eat those seeds.

Does anyone know when you can feed them scratch? I was thinking of getting some next time I go to the feedstore.

Good luck!