Scared chickys! Help!

[JazzyChicks]

Hey guys! I have 6 chicks in total, all about a week old. We got them from a local feed store and I was wondering if it was normal for them to be scared of us? They run and chirp real loud and try to evade being handled at all costs... it makes me sad and I feel like I'm doing something wrong.... help please! any advice is appreciated.

 

[foreverlearning]

Are you reaching for them from above? Their natural instincts are to run from anything above. I find it best to come in from the side with treats in my hand and wait for them to climb on. If your brooder is not set up for side access then slowly come in from the top. It will take a while to fully socialize but it is worth it when they come to you for pets.

 

[JazzyChicks]

Ok, but they are only about a week old, what sort of treats am I able to give them?

 

[foreverlearning]

Even chick feed will work. When they get a few weeks old I give them meal worms too.

 

[Tumbleweed Farm]

Yes, give them mealworms and they will love you for life!

 

[lularat]

I would slowly put my hand in the brooder from the top with palm up and leave it there for a few minutes at a time for them to get used to it several times throughout the day. I would also talk to them. After a few days, I started to put chick food in my hand and slowly they began to eat from my hand. It wasn't long before several would hop up on my hand without anything in it. I could then raise them out of the brooder and hold them. Some warm up to you much quicker than others and some will always be a little more cautious.

 

[JazzyChicks]

They have been warming up to me. I try hard to move slowly. I have two each of the buff orpingtons and red sexlinks and they seem to be pretty sociable and, for the most part, let me pick them up. I also have one easter egger and the one white leghorn. The leghorn is super flighty already and very skittish. The easter egger is still on the shy side but lets me hold her without much problem (once i catch her lol) one of the, i believe either sexlink or BO, is very assertive and makes me wonder if she is a he. She comes right up to me and trys to see what I have in my hand...

Also, I've started cleaning out their "kennel" when they are in there. They just huddle in one corner until i shoo them to another corner and it works out ok. They have already outgrown the bin I had been using to keep them in when I cleaned. I hope this is ok?

Thank you everyone for all the advice!

 

[hildar]

Hey guys! I have 6 chicks in total, all about a week old. We got them from a local feed store and I was wondering if it was normal for them to be scared of us? They run and chirp real loud and try to evade being handled at all costs... it makes me sad and I feel like I'm doing something wrong.... help please! any advice is appreciated.

Now you know why I never buy at the feed stores. I had that issue with our GLW's and leghorns that we got from tractor supply. I then talked to some others that bought babies from there and the same issues with all of them. the issue though is something that seems to happen yearly. I asked a man that bought some more thinking they would be better and nope same issues and that was the following spring. His wife told me last year the same issues. This year they are buying babies online. I wish I had of had what they wanted but I don't raise bantams.

 

[donrae]

They have been warming up to me. I try hard to move slowly. I have two each of the buff orpingtons and red sexlinks and they seem to be pretty sociable and, for the most part, let me pick them up. I also have one easter egger and the one white leghorn. The leghorn is super flighty already and very skittish. The easter egger is still on the shy side but lets me hold her without much problem (once i catch her lol) one of the, i believe either sexlink or BO, is very assertive and makes me wonder if she is a he. She comes right up to me and trys to see what I have in my hand...

Also, I've started cleaning out their "kennel" when they are in there. They just huddle in one corner until i shoo them to another corner and it works out ok. They have already outgrown the bin I had been using to keep them in when I cleaned. I hope this is ok?

Thank you everyone for all the advice!

They might be a little old to start this by now, but you can try using your finger and tapping the ground a few times--taptaptap, taptap, like that. This mimics the natural motion of a momma hen finding food for her babies and instinctively calls them to the sound/motion. You can then use that one finger to kind of nuzzle/stroke them on the back, usually right between the wings. Again, something a momma would do.

Their behavior while you're cleaning is perfectly normal. It's actually what I want my birds to do! It's so much easier to clean when they all group together instead of getting in my way.

 

[Luckybaby]

All chicks at that age will definitely be scared of humans. What I usually do to tame chicks is to catch them so that I can pet them. Also, show them that you are the one providing their food and water. Do it everyday, and maybe several weeks later, you can hand feed them. Try not to hold them tightly as it might hurt or kill them. All of my adult chickens can be hand feed. Even my rooster who used to make my hand bleed when I try to hand feed it, doesn't want my hand to bleed anymore.