Tame vs Wild

[Brenda Vause]

I hatched out 10 chicks and they are just now 1 week old. 7 are darling silkies, 2 are cuckoo marans with one of those being first hatched and huge and much more feathered than the other, and one Jersey Giant which is smaller than either cuckoo marans. Problem is that these 10 chicks are much wilders and scatter at hands going into brooder. They hardly come to the hand and chirp like crazy when handled. As soon as they are placed back into the brooder they run away from the hand. It's funny to see but we have about 20 other bigger chickens outside, most of them feed store bought chicks which came from Ideal. These chicks when purchased were just a few days old, and many were already tamed by the time we got them home from the feed store. Most would come to the hand and some even jump in the hand as put down to them. Some had remained standoffish and frightful but it didnt matter because others were willing to be handled. Well I would like these chicks to be tame. The silkie babies are not quite as wild as the other three. Maybe it could be there bloodlines. What do you do to tame your new incubator hatchlings?

 

[MsBagawkbagawk]

I handle them all the time and feed them treats out of my hand, they'll learn. Although, my WFBS Lakenvelder, and Giant were never friendly until they started laying. Now they're dolls.

 

[RonC]

When you reach into their brooder move slowly and try not to reach down on them. That hand reaching down is like a hawk swooping in to them. They will get more used to being handled, some more than others. Some breeds are naturally more docile than others too. One of mine liked to sit in my lap when younger and a couple others would join in not to miss anything. Others didn't want any part of it. Mine didn't really settle down till they started laying then it was an almost overnight change.

 

[Brenda Vause]

I do handle these babies several times a day whenever possible, as well as feed, water, and change bedding as needed. I just assumed hatched chicks would automatically be tame with the human right there from the start. And I bet my hand moving down is mimicing the swoop of a hawk. I'll try making slower, more deliberate movements. Thanks.

 

[ThiefPouter06]

I've found that tame roo chicks make mean adult roos.

 

[MsBagawkbagawk]

Yeah, I did a little experiment this year. Handling a roo too much makes them more aggressive. My d'Anver is aggressive now, but I just hold him upside down for a second and he's getting better.

 

[ThiefPouter06]

I think tame roos think you are another chicken and try to put you in the pecking order. For me it has been mean fullsize roos. Now I have a bantam roo with my hens.

 

[MsBagawkbagawk]

Yeah, I can butcher the big ones. The bantams are too cute for me to kill though....*sigh*. I can't even kill the one named Jerkface, and he is called Jerkface for a reason...

 

[Brenda Vause]

About roosters...I have 4 I'm sure...3 at least...out of 21 chickens. The silkie roo is about 6 months and all other chickens outside are between 1 and a half and 3 and a half months old. I hope they all get along later on. Other than the silkie, a barred rock, and a pretty guy I havent identified his breed yet...he has a matching female...and they look like a game breed..and I believe my partidge cochin is going to be a rooster. Am I going to have to keep these roosters seperated later as adults or can they roam together?

 

[MsBagawkbagawk]

They can roam together, and if they always have been together shouldn't be to aggressive. It's when you introduce a new rooster that you start having problems.