Tips/Advice for Raising Friendly Chickens

[Oddball Flock]

We have 12 chicks, not even a week old. This is our first time raising chickens from babies so we don't have too much experience. We have 2 older chickens but they were already 5 months when we got them. I'm looking for any advice and/or tips to raise them to be friendly. TIA

 

[Rainwing]

When they're at the age that they're fine with being at room temperature (about 4 or 5 days?) I sometimes take a chick, put it in my lap and feed it treats (or just random crumbs I find). One of them likes it so much that she'll jump on my hand if I put it in the brooder. I have Buff Orpington chicks so they're a lot more gentle than any of the other breeds I've raised so far.
Hope I helped.

 

[LadyVictorian]

I find taming adult birds is easier because you can sit in the coop with them and feed them out of your hands. Eventually they come to know you are the treat person and rush towards you every time you walk into their coop. I had my silkies when they were already a week old and it had to do with a lot of me just taking a good hour to feed them all by hand while in their brooder, petting them, letting them jump into my hand, I very rarely picked them up and held them because that can be scary for babies. I acted more like a mama hen and mama hen's don't pick up their babies. I would call them over, point out food, and huddle them all under my hands like a mama hen putting her babies under her. I do the same with my chicks I have had since they were 1 day old and they are so convinced I am a mama bird that they scream when I walk away from them. That seemed to work very well for me and my juveniles still follow me around int heir coop and call up to me for food. If I sit down or kneel on the coop floor my juvies will still try to huddle under me too.

With my silkies they are tame enough I can hold them now and place them on my lap and pet them and they won't move or jump off. One of my roosters even sat on my lap for hours when I played video games and would squawk when I died in the game or jumped because of a jump scare. He would stay in my lap but he would bawk excitedly thinking something was obviously coming to eat us. My other silkie rooster Yuki will still jump to my shoulder to perch on my shoulder while I walk around and do barn chores. I call him the baby dragon because of how his toes curl over my shoulder like claws and his chest hands over like he's a puffed out proud baby dragon. Chickens are super food driven though so as long as they get use to you being a treat and food bringer they will love you.

 

[Oddball Flock]

When they're at the age that they're fine with being at room temperature (about 4 or 5 days?) I sometimes take a chick, put it in my lap and feed it treats (or just random crumbs I find). One of them likes it so much that she'll jump on my hand if I put it in the brooder. I have Buff Orpington chicks so they're a lot more gentle than any of the other breeds I've raised so far.
Hope I helped.

Thank you! That's the breed I've been wanting. At the moment, I have gold sex links, black sex links, and some type of ameraucanas mixed, also a couple of other ones I'm not sure of the breed. Have you had any experience with those?

 

[Oddball Flock]

I find taming adult birds is easier because you can sit in the coop with them and feed them out of your hands. Eventually they come to know you are the treat person and rush towards you every time you walk into their coop. I had my silkies when they were already a week old and it had to do with a lot of me just taking a good hour to feed them all by hand while in their brooder, petting them, letting them jump into my hand, I very rarely picked them up and held them because that can be scary for babies. I acted more like a mama hen and mama hen's don't pick up their babies. I would call them over, point out food, and huddle them all under my hands like a mama hen putting her babies under her. I do the same with my chicks I have had since they were 1 day old and they are so convinced I am a mama bird that they scream when I walk away from them. That seemed to work very well for me and my juveniles still follow me around int heir coop and call up to me for food. If I sit down or kneel on the coop floor my juvies will still try to huddle under me too. 

With my silkies they are tame enough I can hold them now and place them on my lap and pet them and they won't move or jump off. One of my roosters even sat on my lap for hours when I played video games and would squawk when I died in the game or jumped because of a jump scare. He would stay in my lap but he would bawk excitedly thinking something was obviously coming to eat us. My other silkie rooster Yuki will still jump to my shoulder to perch on my shoulder while I walk around and do barn chores. I call him the baby dragon because of how his toes curl over my shoulder like claws and his chest hands over like he's a puffed out proud baby dragon. Chickens are super food driven though so as long as they get use to you being a treat and food bringer they will love you. 

Aww that's adorable lol.
When we got our older chickens i would sit in the coop with them and feed them scratch, pomegranate seeds, or lettuce so they associate me with treats. My husband on the other hand, they're not too fond of him. They don't "attack" him but they don't stand to close to him either. I think they've really warmed up to us since they first arrived. I wish they would sit on my lap and such like yours do but I'll take what i can get Thanks for the info!

 

[HannahZuni]

Even with baby chicks if you stay in the coop with them and pet them and hand feed them chick starter they will love you.

 

[TikiRoost6]

I have 6, 2 week old chicks. Could I add more younger chicks to my flock without worrying the others will bully?

 

[Oddball Flock]

Even with baby chicks if you stay in the coop with them and pet them and hand feed them chick starter they will love you.

Thank you. Before, i wasn't hand feeding them. Last night was the first night doing so and some of them seem pretty calm already. I have one i bought at Tractor Supply that is supposedly a gold sexlink pullet but she acts like cockerel. Every time i put my hand in with feed she charges at me and pecks my fingers. I scooped her up and she tried biting me! She got my nail but she actually closed her beak and pulled. She's the most aggressive out of all of them. Is that normal for a female??

 

[LadyVictorian]

It can really depend on the breed, golden sexlinks are a sexlink so they autosex which means males and females are born different colors. It would be virtually impossible for them to missex a sexlink. The only way she could be a rooster is if she isn't a sexlink at all in rather something like a RIR or New Hamper Red. Female chicks will always hatch red and males hatch white or creamy white.

 

[Oddball Flock]

It can really depend on the breed, golden sexlinks are a sexlink so they autosex which means males and females are born different colors. It would be virtually impossible for them to missex a sexlink. The only way she could be a rooster is if she isn't a sexlink at all in rather something like a RIR or New Hamper Red. Female chicks will always hatch red and males hatch white or creamy white. 

Interesting.. She was in a big trough with a sign that said golden sexlinks pullets. She's a bright yellow. There were multiple ones like her. There was also brownish ones. We picked her and and a brownish one. They do seem a little older than the others though. Would age make them act like that?