playing with chicks

[thepremo1]

when should i start playing with them, how do i play with them, are there any toys i should put in the brooder?
wha about you when and how often do you play with your chicks

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

You can play with them when ever you want. You can get a braclet, that is sparkliy or something and you can drag it around on the floor and the chicks think it's worm!!! It's really funny to watch them chase it!!! Or you can put some small branches in their brooder and they can start roosting on them. Or maybe a small box or something they can hide in. Hope this helps!

 

[happyhensny]

Pick em up and snuggle them. The first time I got day olds I was afraid to let the kids hold them then, I saw the "How it's made" on chick hatcheries. Play with them!

 

[thepremo1]

thanx im pretty excited
can you play twith them too much, and how long can they be away from the heat of the brooder?

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Quote:
You can play with them how ever long you want to. If you notice they're shivering or something you might wonna put them back in the brooder. I wouldn't play with them if they are still wet or anything but for the most part you can play with them alot!!! Have fun!!!

 

[l'abeille]

Thanks for asking this! Now I am oing out to play with mine with my kids!

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

l'abeille :

Thanks for asking this! Now I am oing out to play with mine with my kids!

Have fun!!! Give your babies a big chicken momma hug from me please!!!​

 

[Armageddon]

My DD plays with the chicks ALOT.....I tell the chicks "assume the position" it is the job of the chick to be held by the child. They do prefer me over her.....but she doesn't know that.....I am sure they thicks HAND ZILLLLLA when she approaches...it's all good. At three weeks, they aren't looking like chicks....they look like little chickens!!! She still loves them and cuddles them like they were little fuzzies.....

sigh...I love having chickens

 

[fowltemptress]

I don't know that you can play with them too much, unless you keep them from eating or drinking when they need to. You can play with them the wrong way. Rapid movements, swooping in from above, that can scare them and make them more jittery than otherwise. Calm movements and scooping them up from below rather than bringing your hand down from above has, I've noticed, helped my chicks stay more calm with me. They prefer being snuggled to being petted . . . petting just isn't a natural thing in chicken world, so they're not sure how to react to it, I think. I like snuggling chicks, anyway, so I have no complaints.

 

[felidaet]

We held ours a lot last year starting with the day we got them (after giving them some time to warm up in the brooder). As was already mentioned, they really liked to be cuddled as opposed to petted. We had 18 last year and found we were holding them a lot but even so I did not feel that all of them got held as much as I would have liked.

For this year I would like them to be held more but we are also going to have more chicks (24). One of my daughters is 10 years old and she has some very responsible friends. We have started asking some of them if they would like to come over to visit and hold the chicks after we get them. Of course they are all excited and saying yes. They don't realize that they will be actually doing us a favor by holding the chicks. Even though these girls are responsible, they will still only be allowed to hold the chicks with adult supervision.