Skittish Pullets help!

[aart]

I'm in the same boat 2fathens. Should have sucked it up and gotten another round of chicks after we lost two from our original flock. Instead we have three new pullets that are as skittish as they are full of hatred for me! I found that fresh raspberries perked them up a bit and warmed them up to me. They still huddle in the corner when I come in, but I'm going to try meal worms and see how that goes over.

I raised all mine from day old chicks and they are skittish and not overly friendly. I held them and interacted with them every day when they were chicks but now only one chicken will come right up to me and let me pick her up. The rest run away or keep their distance. They are now 16 weeks old. They seem to get more skittish every day. Is this a possible breed thing (hamburgs, campines, minorcas) or will they grow out of it? I had naked necks for my previous flock and they were extremely friendly even though I got them at six weeks old. So my story seems to be opposite of what ya'll are saying.

Most chickens are skittish....they are prey animals, it's instinctual for them to flee.
Some breeds may be more calm, some individual birds may be more calm, some keepers may be more calm and that may have an influence on the birds demeanor.
They can be acclimated to human presence beyond 'oh yay, here comes the food-bringer!!!'...but it can take lots and lots of time and patience.
They don't 'hate' us.... or 'love' us.