Tips for making chicks friendly...

[Motts]

I am on my second batch of chicks. My first batch included a Wyandotte and I have to say, she is the most skittish hen and I can't catch her unless she is already locked in the coop or is broody. Right now I have one really friendly one that I hope is not a roo. SHE is my naked neck and I have been told they are very friendly. This group seems more skittish in general. I put my hand in the brooder and tap/"peck" at the food and put some food or treat in the palm on my hand flat out on the floor of the brooder. They will come to investigate and eat the food in the palm of my hand. I had pet their breast area which they tolerate and now I have been encouraging them to get on my finger.

My last batch would crawl up my body and sit on my shoulder, even after they were outside but after getting pecked in the eye by a 5 month old hen, I'm really not into that.

Mine are set up in a storage bin in my laundry room. I close them in and sit on the ground with them every night now and that has been helping also. One tries to take dust baths on my tile floor. It is dark brown. I've tried to introduce a small container of dirt, but she won't go for it yet.

Marci

 

[SusanD]

I'm glad to hear that its normal for chicks to become more skittish after going outside. I was kind of surprised to noticed the change in my three (I thought I had a pretty good relationship with them, as I held them everyday, and they would become very relaxed when held). However, when we put them outside, two of them refused to let me touch them, and the tamest one would sometimes refuse. I was afraid that I might have done something wrong. They are at the point now where they will let me hand feed them and will sometimes (when they are resting during the middle of the day) let me touch them if I'm quiet and don't startle them. So, hopefully, I'm on the right track

 

[Toddrick]

I suspect it has more to do with being feathered than anything else. Having those big needle-like feathers in your skin probably makes it not very pleasant to be touched once fully feathered (which is about the same time they go outside).

I'm guessing--and this is just a hypothesis--that if one were to train chicks to stand on his arm and eat out of his hand WITHOUT touching the feathers (maybe the head is okay to touch), then they might allow this behavior to continue into adulthood, and be more trusting. It's just so hard not to touch the pretty feathers .

 

[cheekiechickie]

I have 6 young hens, 2 are flighty speckled hamburgs that dont want to be touched. However when we first got them, I spent the first 3 weeks taking a few hours everyday to quietly sit at the brooder where I was seen by the chicks. I didn't try to grab at them or pet them. Just being present was enough for them. Now at 14 weeks they follow me around the yard with out problems... Picking the hamburgs up still doesn't happen though lol