Petting your birds and loving them

[RoosterRidge]

All I know is that when I have been gone for a few hours, I come home and they come running... We have loved and cared for them from day one... I can pick our roo up and all his ladies too... Don't think that would be happening if we had not petted and loved on them when they were little...

 

[SteveBaz]

I know t5his might sound vain but I hear them peeping loud when I get home in my truck. I think they know the sound of my diesel truck and when I come home. I kind of think its wishful thinking but I would like to believe that anyway.

BAZ...

 

[Lurken Turken]

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That is so sweet!

 

[sunnysongbird]

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awww so cute!! experiment is a success!

 

[6chickens in St. Charles]

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True, but ON THE OTHER HAND, it could be falling into the category of "you don't know what you don't know".

There are things you know,
And there are things you know that you don't know,
And then there are the things you don't know that you don't know.

Chickens make good pets, for instance?

I'm sure the first guy who saw that odd creature crawl out of the surf and says to his wife, "y'know, I think I'll boil that thing, dip it in hot butter and eat it!" never even heard of Red Lobster.

 

[RoosterRidge]

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It is really sweet the way they love us back for giving them what they need to survive... Love my peeps... Yes they are 4 1/2-5 months old but they will always be my peeps...

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

I really do think they enjoy being in your company. Whether it's true or not, I like to think so!

I hardly ever give my chickens treats. They usually get let out in the morning and I feed them outside their coop on the ground, and I go back to the house. Come back in the evening throw out somemore food and lock'em up. They do get table scraps, but mostly only my layers. My young breeders have never free ranged, other than in the front yard when they were younger. They didn't get any treats, just plain 'ol food.

I have a game hen that went broody and hatched out several batches of chicks last summer. She is very wild, and you can never touch here without getting a scar to show for it. Anways, she hatched out a bunch of Game x EE chicks, and I caught her and her chicks and brought them up to the yard and put them in a hutch. I go back outside and I hear a chick screaming bloody murder at the barn. I rush back out there and I look all over the barn rooms and finally find a tiny little chick that had gotten left behind. I didn't give it back to the mother, she was being spazzy and was trying to fly out of her "cage". I brought the chick in and hand raised it. I carried it around in my apron pocket, an it would do house work with me, chores, etc. It went everywhere with me. It was always fed in it the brooder, never by hand. It never got treats, just chick starter. I ended up naming the chick Beepbeep because when I would call to her she would put her head down and charge you, and she wouldn't look up, even when she bumped into things! She would following me around the house like a puppy and would eagerly jump into my lap if I squatted down to pick up something.

Fast forward a couple of years.....

Beepbeep is around 2 years old, has gone broody and hatched out 12 chicks, and recently went broody AGAIN but this time didn't hatch out any chicks and is now back in the layer flock. She still comes running to me either to get away from the roosters, or just to cuddle!

She doesn't come up to me looking for treats like the other chickens do, she runs up to me, jumps in my lap and puts her head under my arm and lays down waiting for her tummy rubs.

I could tell you about so many of my cuddl'in chooks, but I won't.

~ Aspen

 

[SteveBaz]

very cute story ASPEN I love this stuff to cute not to smile

 

[6chickens in St. Charles]

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Nope.

As one example of the fact that this many times isn't the case:
I had a pullet that when I'd hold out my arm for her, she'd fly up on it. A few times I offered her a treat there & she turned away from it, seeming to say, "No food--Just cuddle me."

Another logical example:
Chicks don't grow up just liking the hen who raised them because she leads them to food. They actually like to be with her, too.If a person raises chicks, similarly, some of them like being with that person for a number of different reasons.

Nope...they stay close to their mother because she shows them food and provides a source of safety and warmth. As soon as they don't need this from her they blend in with the flock and you can't tell what chick belongs with what mama after that. They do not form life long bonds with their mommies.

Here's an experiment. Never hand feed your chickens. Have automatic feeders for all feed, water and treats. Never be near them while they are eating from these dispensers. Never be the one that lets them out of the coop or the run, as they will associate your coming with freedom as well. Cuddle them, love them, pet them otherwise. Now...see if they run to you and just want to be near your cuddly arms out of need for sheer affection.

Anyone who has tried this experiment and kept to it on a strict basis is free to report back on the natural affection of their flock of chickens. Until then, it just isn't credible.

Yes, but the same goes for any baby of any kind. Dogs from puppy mills' crates have a high percentage of nonsociability. Chimpanzee, dog and human studies for the past 50 years have demonstrated social isolation effectively and routinely results in nonsocial behavior.

 

[Chickenaddict]

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I disagree. I love mine as much as I can, have 1 on 1 time with each one every night, all 36 of them. They all have names and each one knows their own name. For example if they are in a crowd I call out for a specific bird and snap my fingers, that bird will come to me and sit on my lap cooing at me while I pet her. Not all do this but most of mine will. Another example, I was in NYC for a week and had never been away from my birds for more then just overnight. While I was gone my SO told me they were soooo quiet and depressed they just layed around with their heads hung low.... When I got home (no treats in hand) Set one foot on the back patio and each and every one of those birds made a b line right for me. I sat on the grass and they all crowded around me, fighting for a spot in my lap! SO I feel they love me just as much as I love them. You can never love a chicken too much!