Thanks Alex -- yeah, "flighty" definitely is the word for them right now, LOL. They're so funny and cute though, and I'm loving watching them grow up. Maybe I can get them as friendly as some of yours.You know, @souriasia , I'm not sure if I did anything differently than anybody else, but here's my method for raising chicks. Not only did I spend a LOT of time handling and petting them, but I also placed one chick at a time in my lap for about 10 minutes each. Another favorite activity was to put them on the floor (we don't have carpet, so any poop was easily cleaned up) and let them run around, all the while acclimating them to our movements and sounds. They always would climb onto us of their own free will for attention at some point or another, so that way we just let them come when they felt like it. The nice thing is, even as adults most are used to being picked up, hugged, kissed, and talked to. But even with all of our socialization sessions when they were chicks, there are a couple who aren't afraid of us, but they happen to be naturally standoffish and would rather not participate in the affection that the others are receiving. That's the down side; you can't change a chicken's disposition, so if they're going to be aloof, they're going to be aloof no matter what you do. Your birds still have hope, because it sounds like they are experiencing what I call "The Flighty Phase." Every one of our 29 chickens has gone through it, but now that everybody is laying or close to it, they have become much more docile and even friendly again.
-Alex
I am a complete wuss about the mealworms. Yep, they are repellent to me, too! I just sprinkle them straight out of the bag, as I do not want to touch them! But my grownup girl likes them, and my little girls do, too. So far it's the only treat I can find that my little girls do like. Nothing else I've come up with impresses them in the least!
Well, I was thinking I'm the only person who speaks chicken. Whenever I clean the poop tray, my Delaware & one of my EEs come up on the roost to 'talk' to me. English is my first language, but I'm a CSL learner (chicken second language) learner@ shortgrass: When chickens talk, it is an expression of content, even basic happiness. They also might want to share their thoughts with you, whatever they are. (Such as: "I love it when you come to visit. Why don't you visit more often?" or "You should have seen the big bug I just found, chopped up, and ate with delight.")--When chickens sing, it is an expression of high emotional happiness.
Chickens have a whole variety of vocal expressions. They all have different meanings. They can express excitement. So the typical "guck-a-guck-a-guck-aaaaaaa" (for instance, after the accomplishment of laying an egg). They can express discontent with short, hacking clucking. And they have a variety of other, differentiated noises to express other emotions and purposes, from interacting with other chickens (or other species) to scaring away imagined or real dangers to screaming loud for help. As an ESL-writer, I am not familiar with the English vocabulary for the different sounds that chickens make. So I cannot describe them and their meanings any more detailed.
Yet, growing up with chickens (and later with cats), I speak some chicken (and cat).So my translations from "Chicken" into English might include some fantasy but are not totally unfounded.
Well, I was thinking I'm the only person who speaks chicken. Whenever I clean the poop tray, my Delaware & one of my EEs come up on the roost to 'talk' to me. English is my first language, but I'm a CSL learner (chicken second language) learner
