My chickens are terrified, help me help them?

[Splunky]

i have a set of 6 Reds that have been laying for about 6 wks or so. I also have a set of 4 chickens that are 10 wks younger than them, one is a rooster. They have been together since the little ones were about 6 wks or so, and in the coop together for at least a month, likely longer (I lose track of time).

The Reds are very aggressive towards the littler ones, even though they are just about the same size now. At first I knew to expect it as normal for pecking order etc. But, this has made them terrified to the point we can't catch them at all. They know when we call for treats but the Reds are quicker to come so the littler ones rarely get any. the Reds run from us, but we can catch them easily and they don't squawk or anything. In the coop it's all about getting on the roost and staying there, enduring harsh pecking from the Reds. Although, none are losing feathers due to the pecking so is it poss that it's not as bad as I think it is? Even when we toss seeds or other treats in their direction they run away in fear.

How do I help the littler ones become less terrified of us or life in general? we want to be able to hold them, or give them treats without them freaking out.

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated. We love our birds and are sad they are so fearful!

 

[centrarchid]

First stop chasing them. To handle them, waite until it is dark,

 

[sdsmowen]

First stop chasing them. To handle them, waite until it is dark,

X 2 they are much easier to handle once it's dusk and it is a lot less traumatizing for the birds.

 

[kcjones]

when i can i wait for the birds to come in the roost,at night. i talk to them and pet them as they come in, only 2 or 3 out of 26 don't really like it.an i touch them anyway. The 16 older birds i can alll hand feed but they won't let me pick them up, the 10 younger i can touch an pick up easyly but didnt realize i had to train them to accept treats from my hand , so can't give them treats by hand , never though i had to train a chicken to take treats. they usaully have a rucus over roost positions here, can take up to 20 minutes to get the pecking each other over