Should I keep trying to pick up my 3 month old chicks?

[TheMother]

They are not kittens or puppies! And they are having a good time out there, which is good.
They come for goodies when you call, and will hang around nearby, all good.
Chickens are prey animals, and will be afraid of being swooped down on from above, and this is good too. Try offering a treat, and reaching under, not from above, and realize that every bird won't want cuddling!
Having birds jumping on and pecking you won't be cute for long! They should respect your space, and only come into it when invited! Especially cockerels, who need to be spending their time watching their flockmates, not going after you!!!
Mary

I agree Mary! I'm the type who will not hold a chicken for fun. Chances are high they'll poop on you.
Although I have a Lavender orps and a Lavender Americauna of whom people say are incredibly calm and enjoy a cuddle and I'll say I agree .
I do however enjoy sitting in my chair and watching them whenever I have a chance.

 

[MilesFluffybutt]

If I wanted to work on making them comfortable with me picking them up, how would I manage that? I sit around them in the yard or our back deck, and they come up looking for treats. If I lean over to try to pick them up, they move a few steps away. Even when I sit in grass with them (dangerous given the poop), they are pretty agile at bounding away when I pick up one. I don’t want to chase them around or to scare them. I’ve had to pick them all up one by one to check them when one got sick. I cornered them in the run, and I worried they would be more scared of me after.

It's a matter of giving them a positive association with your hands. Hands = good things so I'd make sure to hand feed them special treats. Treat, pet, treat. Treat, more petting, treat. Treat, pick up, treat. Repeat. More over, you = good things so they'll want to spend time with you.

With the exception of one rooster, I don't have to chase my boys. I pull up chair, shake a treat bag, and they'll come right over. I can pick them up then. No stress for me. No stress for them.

And that one guy, well, he didn't have a positive experience with people. They tried that 'alpha roo' crap you read about and now he's fearful of people. We're working on it, though.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I think it is probably the teenage stage. My girls all did this too. Now they are friendly!

x2. Their age plays a role in this. If they were fine being handled when they were younger I'll wager that they'll be more tolerant of being handled after they reach point of lay. In the meantime, teenage hormones can make them wacky, so they really don't want to be handled like before.

 

[KCalhoun]

Don't be sad that they don't want to be held. I really think it is a "teenage" thing cause right now I have 60 and only a few of them will let me even touch them and that is just a quick rub on the chest!!!! My Barred Rock roo use to let me hold him and he would even "snuggle" under my neck with his head but yesterday the terd head bit me!!!! I can pick him up if I need to and it's the same for my other kiddos. I don't force the issue but I can sit in each pen with treats and I become their BFF. Some of them will jump in my lap, on my arm or where ever they can get to be the first one to get a bite!!! (Any other time I can't even touch them)
I have some that wants to be held when I walk into their pen and I will squat down and put my hand under their belly and lift them up. One of my Columbian Wyanadottes has to be held daily. They are right at 7.5 weeks old so I am hoping that she will stay that way.
Just be patient, keep doing what you're doing and they will come back around!!! GOOD LUCK

 

[Ryooki]

Thanks for the advice. I’ll try not to stress about it too much for a couple more months. I’ve hanging out / treating them a bunch. They’ve started following my husband and I around the yard, and when we chill on the back deck, they come up and rest next to us. It’s super cute except all the poop to wash off the deck! Lol.

I tried picking one up from the bottom like you mentioned, and he was a little alarmed, the sat right down as I pet him, just like when he was a baby. He actually roosted awkwardly on my knee so I held my arm under his back legs for support. He didn’t get down for several minutes, letting me pet him, until one of the kids came out with a blanket on his shoulders. Lol. Then he ran off last with all the rest of the chickens who had been hovering around me. I’m feeling encouraged!