timid chickens

[yoopersue]

I have pullets that are about 16 weeks & have had them for about 3 weeks. Everytime I come near pen, they run behind coop screeching like they know I will put them in a pot of hot water while still alive. YIKES. The last time I had chickens they would run to meet me in case I had food (usually I did). Even though I feed them & give them treats, they still hide. What is up with this? They also won't come out of the pen, but stay close to the coop.

 

[earlyredrooster]

I have pullets that are about 16 weeks & have had them for about 3 weeks.  Everytime I come near pen, they run behind coop screeching like they know I will put them in a pot of hot water while still alive.  YIKES.  The last time I had chickens they would run to meet me in case I had food (usually I did).  Even though I feed them & give them treats, they still hide.  What is up with this?  They also won't come out of the pen, but stay close to the coop.

Were they mistreated by the previous owner? What breed are they?

 

[yoopersue]

They are Ameraucana's & from what I saw, they were treated well. When I got them, all the young pullets were in a horse stall (~50), the adults were in the yard.

 

[earlyredrooster]

They are Ameraucana's & from what I saw, they were treated well.  When I got them, all the young pullets were in a horse stall (~50), the adults were in the yard.

It could be that they were never messed with and don't know how to interpret your actions.

 

[yoopersue]

So do you think it will just take a lot of time?

 

[earlyredrooster]

And slow movements until you have their trust. Spend lots of time around them without crowding them too much, and a couple of hands full of meal worms causally tossed through the wire as you stroll by will go a long way.

 

[lisascenic]

Everytime I come near pen, they run behind coop screeching like they know I will put them in a pot of hot water while still alive. 

I have a goofy Easter Egger who acted like that. Eventually she mellowed out, a bit. She no longer responds to everything she encounters (humans! the outside! food!) with screams of hysterical terror. But she's still a bit of a freak. I'm convinced she got badly jostled in shipping and that something happened to her tiny brain. Either that, or she just likes yelling. She often screams for fifteen minutes after she lays an egg.

Weirdo.