My chickens hate me :(

[allieloveschickens]

My chickens are pretty nervous of me as well, but I have been slowly earning their trust with treats! Unfortunately I work quite a bit so it is hard to spend a lot of time with them, but I am trying. I hope your girls come around too!

 

[6ChicksandaDog]

I’m new to having chicks as well, mine absolutely love treats and like mentioned in previous posts as soon as they see me they go crazy thinking I have a treat for them everytime I walk out my door, then like previously said I feel guilty and get them treats. Mine love cantaloupe and apples!!

 

[latebloomer]

and, they don't hate you, they are just playing hard to get, keep trying

 

[colebarnhart]

Quote:
ok what are the apples in? is that feed? My 13 week old chicks love the chick started feed, when I mix it with water and make a mash out of it.. its their favorite goodie... last week I switched them to the next level of feed the finisher feed, and added scratch grains as the new goodie.. they dont like this new feed mash like they did the other. ( it doesnt stick as well in little balls like they like) as to their health.. can I keep a small bag of starter just for goodies.. or is there too much of something in it for when they become adults..

they also like their old feed rolled with yogurt into balls.

)O(
Pink

That was a pic of me spliting my mealworm farm into 2. If you read some of the mealworm thread/posts different people feed the worms different things. They'll eat almost anything, but supposedly the better mix and variaty of fruits and veggies they get then the "gut load" of the worms will then better benefit your chix. So if you have a garden then it would be cheap to feed them really good, however, I don't so I only threw in a cut up apple along with the mixture of mostly oatmeal, confection sugar, dried potato, and etc (forgot the actual recipe I got from the BYC mealworm posts).

 

[KristenE]

Thanks for the great comments! They love apples and today I took some overly ripe zucchini too. They watched me through the window put it out and waited until they thought I was gone to come get them! I was crouched behind the tomatoes in the garden messing around in the dirt and the little heifers thought I left! I feel completely shunned, like the poor child in class that no one will sit by

I will just continue to work those girls till they love me!

 

[HLAC]

Try letting your birds run out of food. (not starve them, but let the feeders run out from time to time or remove the food for a couple of hours) They'll quickly associate you with food and the way to a chicken's heart is definitely through it's crop.

 

[sadies chicks]

Totally agree with the treats! When my flock went outside there was a certain disconnect from me and them. I have been working on "gaining their trust back" by bringing them raisins, cabbage, watermelon, cheese pizza, left over ribs, you name it, they love it! I sit and talk with them while they are feasting and within the last week my RIR and brahma have jumped on to my lap! I was in total shock yet sooo happy!! My incredibly shy EE will walk behind me an pick at my jeans, so they are coming around. Keep working at it!!

 

[Kat's Silly Chickens]

A vote for treats. And

I raised mine from 1 day and they can't wait until 10:30am when I bring them their treat. They follow me all over the run and coop.
My younger Silkies and Mille Fleur (hatched from eggs this Spring) are still leery of me but they know when it's treat time. Try standing where they can't see you and when they come out for treats have it in your hand and offer it to them 1 at a time. It works for me...

 

[babigyrl22]

I also vote for treats. My girls used to run when I went to the coop and cower in the corner. Now they are waiting for me at the door all chatty. My younger girls are a little shy but if I kneel down in the run with treats in my hands the temptation is too hard for them to bare and they actually let me pet them. It's funny, because now if i am doing work around the outside of the run, they follow my movements in hopes that I will throw in some treats for them.

It doesn't take them long before they find out that YOU=TREATS.

 

[ThinkingChickens]

I've been treating my chickens as I would any other bird I've raised. They get food in their bowl, but treats only from my hand. If they don't want to take them, they miss out. They have quickly become more tame and more calm around me. I can now pick up two of the three. The one other thing that I learned from BYC is that once they start to lay they are much nicer. This has been very true.