Taming chicks? (Possible abuse)

[Parkerchuuu]

hey all! I just bought 6 chicks three days ago. They are all flighty, and of course I know they won’t immediately love me because of the move and I’m a stranger. But when the lady put my chicks in a transport box she just threw them in, almost violently. She also hit them on the head and said “SHUT UP” loudly (I went a few days prior and witnessed this) I just wanted to know if them screaming and running from me is normal? I’ve been trying to hold them and instead of calming down after a minute or two they just scream. If it is due to the lady’s roughness, will they trust me? And if so, how do I tame them?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

It's normal for chicks to act like you are the boogy man. Gentle handling will pay off as they sexually mature at around 4-7 months. They often become more friendly at that time.

I personally would report the person to the place you purchased your chicks from to ensure she gets better training, or removed from handling chicks. Chicks can be fragile, and she could hurt them.

 

[Parkerchuuu]

It's normal for chicks to act like you are the boogy man. Gentle handling will pay off as they sexually mature at around 4-7 months. They often become more friendly at that time.

I personally would report the person to the place you purchased your chicks from to ensure she gets better training, or removed from handling chicks. Chicks can be fragile, and she could hurt them.

Will do! Thank you! (Love that profile picture )

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Will do! Thank you! (Love that profile picture )

Thank you back.

 

[PolarBerry]

Yikes. I worked with chicks at our feed store and I’d get fired if I was thumping them on the head and tossing them about, especially in front of the person buying them. When I’m cleaning poopy butts in the back room they scream bloody murder because I’m running warm water on their bums but on the sales floor I expect them to make noises when being chased and not always easily go in the box. I’d let the manager know so they can get some training for the person and hopefully keep them away from animals.

If they treated yours that way in front of you I don’t want to know how they unbox them or treat them behind the scenes.

 

[BlueShadow]

Just an addition, one idea for handling chicks gently: As a prey species, hands swooping down at them from above generally means "predator." So having a setup where they can see you coming from the side rather than over top of a box, and where you can reach at them from the side rather than up above, will help keep them a little calmer as you are trying to catch them.