My babies are AFRAID of me!!! Gentle tips?

[azygous]

I was in your shoes with my second batch of chicks, actually it was my first batch raising them from day-olds. My first chicks came to me already people-friendly at three-weeks.

My first batch of day-olds were Wyandottes and the breed isn't that friendly to begin with. I had the brooder on the floor, and each day of reaching in from above made them fear me all the more. But I didn't know that was it at the time. Chicks have a natural fear of anything coming at them from above.

When I was about to get my next batch of chicks, a light went off in my head after reading a thread here very similar to yours. I decided that I would try placing the brooder box on a table and cut access doors into the side. It was a huge success, and I now do this raised brooder for every batch of chicks, and the result is the most trusting and friendly chickens ever!

Try it and I think you'll see some amazing results.

 

[ScottyHOMEy]

Quote:
Read my note after the one of yours I've quoted.

Never mind my opinions about getting birds to love us.

More to the point, the shy chickens in your brood will become curious as you handle the ones that respond more readily. Don't focus on the the shy ones, those you call the pack runners. Handle your regulars everyday and bring in the others one at a time. Most of them will move in and allow you to take them, even though they may protest a little. Treat them kindly when you do get them in hand, and put them down in a way that they feel their footing, and keep your hand in place until they've moved away on their own -- enough repetititions of that and they'll stop seeing you as a threat. It won't be love. It won't be trust. It isn't with the others either. It will be that you're not a threat.

 

[chixmom007]

I had never liked birds before. Parakeets, cockatiels and other birds really seemed to hate me and saw me as their cuttle bone. I have recently been introduced into the world of "raising chickens." I went to the post office to pick them up, gave them their first water, and fed them their first chick feed. These chicks are now 5 1/2 weeks old. They may not always want to be handled. They may not always like me being in their space. (I think they have a lot in common with my daughters... 16, 22 and 26 years old.) You will be fine. Don't give up and realize that their natural instinct is to run from hunters. Unfortunately, in their eyes, you are a very large one.

 

[AV Brahmas]

Quote:
There you have it in a nutshell. It is all about conditioning while they are young. ScottyHOMEy has hit on some key points. Let them know you are coming. Cooing is fine although I will personally take a pass on the billing part, but any noise short of 20 decibels when you come into the vicinity just to let them know that the sudden appearance of "the face" near their brooder is you and not a predator will work. Also from the referenced thread, remember that in chicken world one of the most feared predators comes from above. Realistically, we are bigger than chickens and have to come in from above but the WAY you do it means everything. I have a battery system so the very young birds (excepting hen raised chicks and meat birds which are raised in the brooder house) are at eye level. Once they are big enough to go to a brooder house we have to come in from above and we do this by pushing them into a corner and scooping them up. Handle gently but firmly and put them down carefully. Immediately feed them and they will forget the handling and never hold it against you.

For hen raised chicks I cannot over emphasize the need to hand feed in order to keep them tame. These will be the best and most resourceful chicks you have but can also be a bit aloof. Come close to the young ones in their first week and toss them a meal worm. Watch and enjoy as they chase each other for the prize. Do this often and you will develop a great trust in them which is very gratifying.

This last I want to say carefully and try not to offend. Chickens are not dogs or cats. If you have chickens walking around in your house at any age you might want to consider why. Chicks belong in a brooder and only with a sickly or delicate set of chicks would that brooder be inside your house. After 4-5 days of age they need to be out being chickens. Over handling can be harmful. Over humanizing can result in some roosters becoming aggressive. My family loves me. The dogs love me. The cat tolerates me. Not one of the couple hundred poultry on the place loves me but they all trust me, do not run from my approach and behave in a normal and very interesting way when I am around. That is good enough for me.

 

[fiddlebanshee]

I'm not an expert on this topic by a long shot, since this is my first time with chickens but what I have found works best with my now 2 wk olds is to hold some treat and softly call out to them. It has now come to the point where they all come running when I just call out, and when I stick my hand in the brooder( from the side) most of them are to the point where the hop on my arm and hand, some of them not that interested in the food but more in hopping on my arm. The brooder is elevated so I have to take care not to have the more curious ones come up my arm towards me and try to get out of the brooder as they would fall 2.5 ft down. I have only rarely picked one up or chased one. My thought was that it might work better if we built trust on their terms.

I think they are getting ready to be let out of the brooder for short periods of time so I 'm going to build their ladder this week and to put bedding on the floor of the coop so that they can scurry around some there. I will hang a second heatlamp near the floor so that they can go to warmth when they feel they need it. Once they are out of the brooder I'm going to try to socialize them more by holding them in my lap and letting them get used to me that way. Just for clarification - the brooder is in the coop and there are no other chickens there.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

I have chcks running around the house because they need exercise to develope and exploring is part of their natural instinct. They were given to me at a few days old when the hen was killed with several other chicks, the owner was told they woul not live, he said "yes they will' and gave them to me...I don't have a fancy brooder hatchery set up / i have a large pet case made of vinyl...the weather here is in the 40 degree range, windy and raining...they are in the case where they are warm and safe. Food, water, treats, and even a dust bowl to bathe in.
I think it's interesting that chickens establish eye contact...you have to know they recognize you as another creature, that said, they need to learn what kind of creature you are.Everyone gives off a 'vibe' don't think for a minute they don't react to that.
Yes they do have personalitites too..Right now my chics with the broody hen are going through a faze where they won't do what she tells them immediately anymore, teeagers huh...but get alittle cold or scared and who do they go to?
Chickens respond to sight first, hearing second, they can learn what different sounds mean, they like low tones best it seems to me.
You can say thats conditioning, its also interaction...so its up to you really, I know what I know and have experienced, thats all. I'm not a poultry farmer, I'm not dressing my chikens in sweaters, but I am having alot of fun with them.

 

[boogiedog]

Birds have a strong flight response whenever something large approaches over them (which is why many people put bird cages at eye level). Very instinctual - nothing personal.

I start talking to them quietly as I approach the room with the brooder. I keep talking quietly to them whenever I am in that room - whether or not I am feeding/watering them or not. After I clean food and water (always a bit of drama when I do) I off treats (mealworms will make you very popular very quickly) and sit down next to the brooder. I put the treats in my open palm, and just sit quietly talking to them. Inevitably someone can't resist those wiggly worms and comes over and grabs one. Soon all will learn that you bring food and won't hurt them.

I don't try and pick them up too much (the chasing really stresses them) but rather let them approach for treats on their terms. Soon they will sit on your hand and stay - the warmth feels good to them!

I now have hens that meet me at the run door and will hop onto my lap when I sit down in their run.

They will come around, some breeds more than others... (my Orps are known as my "Lap Ladies"...)

 

[chicncait]

when i got my chicks i held them like crazy! but now they`re almost a year old, most of them run away when i try to hold them,but when i have table
scraps they run to me.

 

[cmom]

I think there is a lot of good advice here. Myself I try to establish a routine. When the chicks get used to a certain call and gesture they usually calm down. My birds follow me around like I'm the pied piper. I have one when she wants my attention she will stand on my feet.

 

[ozark_chickies]

I think it is also a breed thing We have some BO's that as chicks screamed bloody murder if you even looked at them. When they matured they became the most loving chickens we have. It seemed like the different breeds acted differently as chicks and as adults. Buff's screamed as chicks loving as adults, Silver laced wyndott's stand offish as chicks and as adults, RIR loving chicks loving adults. Brown Leghorns crack heads as chicks crack heads as teen agers calmed down as adults. OEGB loving as chicks kind of flighty as adults.