My chicken hates me

[balbrt1]

WHat am I doing wrong? All my babies hate me!!! My Serama is not happy . She is very nervous and will run away. She will not take treats from my hand so no trust there I really need help. Everyone tells me how loving and friendlynSeramas are and I am starting to doubt myself. My baby Silkies do not like me either. Maybe having a chicken as a pet is never going to happen. I am retired and have all the time in the world to devote my time to them. I just needed to vent and get on my soapbox but as it stands now I may find them all new homes. I do not know what to do. Can someone help me? How do you tame a chicken? She is 7 mos and my Silkies are 6 weeks.

 

[Sonia]

Awww don't give up. Chickens go through a 'fear stage' just like kids do.

 

[Chickens R Us]

Find a special treat that they really love, be patient and they will start eating out of your hand. Mine love sunflower seeds I put it in a coffee can shake it and call chick, chick, chick, they come running as fast as they can. I sit quietly in a chair and sprinkle it around my feet while they are eating slowly put some in my hand and hold it out for them.

 

[Chickens R Us]

Find a special treat that they really love, be patient and they will start eating out of your hand. Mine love sunflower seeds I put it in a coffee can shake it and call chick, chick, chick, they come running as fast as they can. I sit quietly in a chair and sprinkle it around my feet while they are eating slowly put some in my hand and hold it out for them.

 

[kaybee123]

Even though they are scared from a week old on up I hold them on my lap. The babies flu asleep on me and the next day they run from me again. I find though once they go outside w the bigger chickens, that's when they run to me for treats and protection from the bigger hens. Whether you realize it or not, they are bonding to you. It's a work in progress. Now all my chickens 4 weeks and up come running to me and not just for treats.

 

[Tuhmu]

For an example. I work 53 hrs a week, so bonding time is cut short. This year I raised over a hundred chickens, and all of them were always scared of "THE HAND". My oldest are almost 3 months old and tonight, as it so happens, I was sitting on my chair sprinkling grain around me, when I just picked one up and sat it on my lap. She stayed there for almost 30 min snoozing and eating grain out of my hand. It takes just takes time . Your birds just need to get use to you, be able to observe you from where they feel safe. I have my old beat down ratty chair right next to the coop and sit there and read byc forum posts, and the chickens get braver all the time. Hope this helps a little, and good luck with the taming of your little flufferbutts.

 

[aggiemae]

One of the best things I ever did was build a brooder with a front opening so I didn't have to reach down from above to handle the chicks,

I agree with other respondents that all chicks go through phases of being standoffish. Hand feeding helps reduce this and so does getting down on the lawn and letting them climb on you and peck at you.Alas, I am to old to do this now, I do go out and sit in a lawn chair in the yards with a can of treats. We have two hens that are lap sitters and a few that will come up on the arm of a chair, but If I am sitting still and shake the treat can even the most cautious of our hens will get close enough to me to get a pet.

 

[PinkE]

My chickens were getting nasty while in the brooder, I was so afraid to put my hands in to get their waterer I started wearing gloves, I'd sit for hours talking to them, they were nasty...I moved them outside to their new coop/run, they were like different birds, happy to see me, never tried to bite me since then, they were just sick of being stuck in the brooder...Give them time...

 

[azygous]

How old are they? Are they still in a brooder? Or are they old enough to be out in a coop?

If they are still babies, they will be very frightened at hands coming at them from up above them. They have an instinct to fear predators swooping down from the sky and eating them. By simply changing your approach to reaching for them from the side, you will see that they are really very curious and friendly. Ease your hand up to their toes, and they will soon want to step onto your hand. Go slow, and be patient.

If they are older, the same principle applies. Approach them carefully at their level, reaching for them slowly from the side rather than from above. If you approach them with treats, using the same container each time, they will learn to come to you when they see that container. They will also associate you with food and good things, and soon will be your friends for life.

Coaxing them into your lap for snuggles and affection may or may not be the next thing you'll want to try, but treats for wonders there, too.

 

[balbrt1]

My silkies are 6 weeks and in a coop and run just for them. They have always ate out of my hand. Catching them and holding are the problem with them. My main concern is the new Serama pullet I just got last Saturday. She is 7 mos old. She lets me hold her but really does not want we to hold her. When outside I cannot catch her easily. She does not bite me nor fly away but she is always looking for a way out from me..She does NOT have a treat she will eat from my hand. I don't know what to do as she is in the house with me. I am hoping with time she will trust me. She is not happy to be with me. The silkies are still young and hoping they will calm down. I am just depressed that they do not like me