SpringFeathers
In the Brooder
- Mar 24, 2019
- 7
- 1
- 12
Hi! I’ve been raising store bought chicks for 3 years now. Our first girls were ISA Browns, and while not exactly skittish, they weren’t very friendly either.
Recently, though, we decided to expand our flock from five, to thirteen (nature permitting that all 8 of the little chicks survive). With this second addition to our flock, I wanted to add some color and variety. We bought 4 Rhode Island Red females, 2 Jersey giant females, and 2 silkie bantams that are straight runs. We are particularly excited about the silkies, as they’re known to be friendly. The youngest is about a week old, the eldest looks about 2 weeks old. We really want them to tame down nicely, and much nicer than our other girls.
This brings me to my question: I’ve spent three to five hours a day with them, mostly just feeding them from my hand and gently petting them when they come close enough. They aren’t running away, but their not exactly enthusiastic either. I don’t expect them to beg for attention, but they seem pretty meh about the situation, and often/occasionally do run from me. If i try to pick one up, it’ll peep as loud as it can manage and wriggle in my hands, and just seem pretty freaked out by the handling overall. If I’m looking for a more pet like temperament, should I just continue putting my hand in slowly for long lengths of time and feeding them? Or should I persist in attempting to pick them up, hold them, and take them out of the bin? Maybe I could wait until their older to take them out of the bin? I really want to handle them correctly this time, we keep chickens mostly for eggs and companionship, so these new chicks are a good fresh start for the flock.
Thank you! I would love to hear what you think I should do.
Recently, though, we decided to expand our flock from five, to thirteen (nature permitting that all 8 of the little chicks survive). With this second addition to our flock, I wanted to add some color and variety. We bought 4 Rhode Island Red females, 2 Jersey giant females, and 2 silkie bantams that are straight runs. We are particularly excited about the silkies, as they’re known to be friendly. The youngest is about a week old, the eldest looks about 2 weeks old. We really want them to tame down nicely, and much nicer than our other girls.
This brings me to my question: I’ve spent three to five hours a day with them, mostly just feeding them from my hand and gently petting them when they come close enough. They aren’t running away, but their not exactly enthusiastic either. I don’t expect them to beg for attention, but they seem pretty meh about the situation, and often/occasionally do run from me. If i try to pick one up, it’ll peep as loud as it can manage and wriggle in my hands, and just seem pretty freaked out by the handling overall. If I’m looking for a more pet like temperament, should I just continue putting my hand in slowly for long lengths of time and feeding them? Or should I persist in attempting to pick them up, hold them, and take them out of the bin? Maybe I could wait until their older to take them out of the bin? I really want to handle them correctly this time, we keep chickens mostly for eggs and companionship, so these new chicks are a good fresh start for the flock.
