Lovable Chick. Will she stay this way?

[Callender Girl]

Agreed.

Dottie, the house chicken, will come jump on my lap, sit beside me on the couch and let me stroke her feathers while she falls asleep, and she leaps onto my outstretched arm when I say, "Dottie, perch." She will also poke her head into an open refrigerator to choose her own grapes if I don't keep an eye on her when I'm foraging for snacks there.

Then, there's the rest of the flock. Nearly all of them were brooded in the house and handled daily; they will gladly allow me to feed them by hand but have NO interest in ever being held again.

Dottie was, unfortunately, raised as a lone chick who failed to integrate into the flock. Your baby has chicken siblings and will, no doubt, be better socially adjusted. Your kindest act is to let her be a chicken and enjoy whatever interaction she wants from you. It's hard to let the special ones grow up.

 

[Ryguy3684]

It's hard to tell. My hen that always hops up on my shoulder was like that from a young age, too. When she was 14 weeks, to the point of laying, she got distant, like the others. I chalked this up to the awkward teenage phase. Once she started laying, she settled right back to being my buddy. Out of the same flock, none of mine are unfriendly, but some are friendlier than others. Unfortunately, it varies bird to bird.

 

[parvani]

Chickens have been raised by human beings for thousands of years. Obviously we pay special attention to the care and feeding of those chickens who worm their ways into our hearts, so being able to bond with human beings has become a survival trait.

One of my chickens who was not raised alone has picked me and my husband to be her "flock", rather than bonding with other chickens. So we have lots of dual-purpose chickens... And ONE "house chicken", who appears determined to be accepted as a member of the household, otherwise known as the "people coop".

Meet Lacey, the silver laced Barnevelder who stops eating if kept with the other chickens. Pretty, isn't she?

 

[Lemon-Drop]

Hey there! I hope your chicken stays friendly! The one tip I have, even though it will be hard, is to hold her every day. It takes a lot of dedication, but I think it could definitely be done.

 

[Hanathehappyhen]

I have 3 chicks, one of them, called Kiwi, loves to jump onto my legs and get kisses and belly scratches. Everytime I put my hand in the brooder (to play or to change the water) she jumps on and tries to climb up to my shoulder. Will she stay this way? Will she lose interest in me? Will she be a tame chicken when she grows? I am hoping that she can be my special best friend, so we can cuddle and play even when she is older.

She might, my chicken Sukie loved being held just like yours, and almost three years later she still follows after me, and hops on my lap whenever she can. Your chick might get more distant, but I’ve found that if you keep spending time with them, they’ll stay attached. Other people are right though, she might be a rooster, and in that case there’s a good chance “she” won’t want to cuddle, and will be too busy with guarding the flock.

 

[Lemon-Drop]

An odd thing. One of our hens, Jasmine, a black Australorp, used to be at the top of the pecking order. She was very mean and cruel, she would peck our toes and such (when she was full grown) but, then she got attacked by a neighbors dog. We almost put her down, but decided to try and nurse her back to health. She had nerve damage in her leg, but we managed to get her back on her feet. She is now the most friendly of our flock. She doesn’t run to be picked up, and she settles down in your arms right away. Anyway, just saying animals can change quite a lot, but sometimes they can be the same until the end, like my chicken Tilly.

 

[dct10]

Well, my first question is: how do you know she's a she? We raised 12 chicks last year and from the beginning, several were very social. They would immediately jump onto us and would stay there as long as we'd let them. As they got older and grew feathers, they would fly up onto our arms and shoudlers. A year later, the very social birds are still the same. Maggie jumps onto my shoudler the instant I enter the run and she rides around while I perform my chores. She and the other social birds are EEs. The Cochins were a bit stand-offish from the beginning bit have warmed up and will now happily sit on our laps and enjoy human contact. NOW...the roos are a very different story. The roos were also very social and friendly for the first 8 months as well. At about the 10 month mark, they became jerks. ALL of them. One, the dominant male has become dowright aggressive. I'm working on it but it doesn't look promising. So, here's to hoping she is a she. I now see why roosters are persona non grata to alot of folks. They def have their role but pets appear not to be among them.

 

[PippinTheChicken]

Thanks! @dct10
I think she is a she because.. I have a strong feeling... She is just like the classic hen- I really hope she is a girl for sure!
Now she is 6 weeks old, still so sweet and loveable!

 

[Justicedog]

I had one chicken (out of 11) who was super friendly with me. She was my crooked beak chicken and I hand feed her for a long time as she needed to stick her whole face into the food in order to get any food. She would get a bowl of crumbles always. But she was the own who would see me (or anyone holding a cup or a bowl) and come running and jumping into our arms.

The rest of my chickens have generally been friendly treat beggars.

I have 5 chicks I'm brooding now who have decided that I am evil itself and they all scream and flee whenever I (or anyone else) nears them. I've never had a group (this is my 3rd) who have behaved like this.

 

[MysteryChicken]

My sister's silkie chick stayed a lovable boy when he grew up. Still likes to sprawl out on his side for belly rubs when he gets snuggles.