I have 3 silver spangled hamburgs who were in a coop with many chickens. I just recently moved them to the pen with my silkies. In the coop they were in before they were not very close to humans. But in the new pen I go in and talk to all of the chickens and they are all used to me. But these hamburgs are not and every time I go in they freak out and fly around. Is there any way I can make them calmer?
Just by doing what you're doing...take a chair, or a bucket flipped over, and sit inside the run every day for a bit and just talk to them (or read a book....lol). Meal worms (my birds go nuts for raisins) or some other small treat is an excellent way to win them over too. You can start by just tossing one or two to them, but work your way to them taking the treat from your hand. Then play with the treat above your lap...eventually someone will hop on your lap to take it, although this process may take a few weeks. Hamburgs are a flighty breed, but they can become real pets too. I have a little andalusian like that...she's a flighty road runner, very skittish. But once she's on your lap, boy does she love to be cuddled and made over.
