scared chicks

[chi-chick]

Boy does it take time for some, but the food/treats are the way to go.

Now if I could just get my gunieas to settle down too.

Charlene

 

[Nicole01]

Its not too late. Catch them and make them sit in your lap until they are relaxed. Do this often and they will be jumping on you in a few weeks. Treats really help too. Have them take it out of your hand if they will. Even my most two skittish birds were tamed by holding them. Every single one jumps in my lap now. Good luck. The more you handle them, the better.

 

[gvilledh]

I found out that if you mix some of their feed in with the yogurt and also let the yogurt get to room temperature, they like it better. I put some on a flat surface (like a cool whip container lid) and let them find it. After that, I put some on my finger and they would take it off there (until they suddenly discovered my ring, then you could forget the food!). A couple of days ago, we put some sand out for them (since the feed store kept insisting that regular grit would be fine, even though I said it was too big) and they immediately started eating the sand. It was cool to see they knew what to do with it. We were going to give them some blueberries, but the ants were more interesting. With these guys, treats are best given when they aren't distracted by everything else that is new.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

It is true about the quiet time. often if you sit still holding two or more in your lap with an old towel, they will eventually fall asleep.

 

[Barrdwing]

Yup, keep handling them. My six incubator-hatched chicks are about a month old now and going through a serious phase of the sillies: they have too much energy, and they're at that age when their mother would be starting to lose interest in them, so they're hyper-alert and bouncing off the walls. Currently they spend the day outside, and I bring them in at night. Catching them in the morning is easy; catching them in the evening, when they're over-stimulated from being outside, is a real nuisance. However, I have noticed that they are getting used to being held. They still scream and fuss when I'm trying to catch them, but once in the hand they settle down and say, "Hi! When's that really good food we get when we come inside?"

Another good trick is to take an old chair out to the coop and spend some time every day sitting with them. The more time you spend in their presence, the calmer they will get about you. They start seeing you as part of the flock, and if you happen to be a flock member who brings them treats, you will be VERY popular!

Chopped hard-boiled egg is a favorite treat with these kids. It's very high in protein, so you don't want to give them too much, but they crave the protein big time. Getting chicks to taste something new and different can be hard; I generally tap it with my finger, and they get very curious.

 

[CarolynF]

Quote:
My chickens love anything starch based -- spaghetti, potatoes, noodles, whatever. Mashed potatoes where especially hilarious. They might be more trainable in the evening when they start getting ready to "roost".

 

[gvilledh]

We tried scrambled eggs tonight without salt or butter. It was funny because I was sitting outside their wire crate with one of them (Nina) and she finally got brave, tried the egg, and the first thing she wanted to do was get back in the crate to show it to the others. It's like "Look what I've got!". Tonight was the first night she was really comfortable just sitting in my lap and then walking up my arm to my shoulder. She would have camped out on the back of my neck for awhile if I could have let her. The silkie, Lucy, is still the loudest of the bunch, but is getting a little better about being cuddled.