Trouble handling mama raised chicks

[Beaglegal]

My goal is to be better able to handle my chickens to check their health, medicate them or even cull them when the time comes.

I have some mama raised chickens and some ones I brooded myself (approx same age). Despite the fact that I rarely handled the non mama raised chicks and that I purchased them at a week + old, they are much easier to handle now than the mama raised chickens. The mama raised chickens freak out when I handle them despite being given treats (which they won’t eat) and the others are calm, despite not being given treats.

I have tried handling them off the roost at night because I heard it was easier, but they still freak out.

Is this just how it is with mama raised chicks?

 

[sourland]

Are all birds of the same breed ? Docility/flightiness can vary greatly from breed to breed. Moreso in my experience than whether they were hen or brooder raised.

 

[Beaglegal]

Are all birds of the same breed ? Docility/flightiness can vary greatly from breed to breed. Moreso in my experience than whether they were hen or brooder raised.

No, the mama raised chickens are mixed from several different breeds. The non mama raised are a cream legbar/welsummer mix (OE).

 

[Beaglegal]

No, the mama raised chickens are mixed from several different breeds. The non mama raised are a cream legbar/welsummer mix (OE).

Also raised by 2 different mothers

 

[Abriana]

I have hand raised chickens, who are for the most part super friendly, two of them are spontaneous lap sitters (one will yank on my pant leg until I squat down). My hen-raised chicks? They won't let me within five feet. They were handled almost everyday as babies, but were always flighty. Depends on the breed as well, but hen-raised chicks are definitely more skittish in my opinion. I had one cockerel (taken by a hawk ) who was raised alone by a bantam, none of the other eggs hatched, and he was so friendly, he would ask to be picked up and snuggle right in. He would also make happy peeping noises when you came near him.

I think it's just, birds of a feather flock together. If the chicks were raised with other chicks and learning from a hen, they will be nervous around humans and prefer chickens. If a chick is raised by a human, it will feel comfortable around humans.

 

[Beaglegal]

I have hand raised chickens, who are for the most part super friendly, two of them are spontaneous lap sitters (one will yank on my pant leg until I squat down). My hen-raised chicks? They won't let me within five feet. They were handled almost everyday as babies, but were always flighty. Depends on the breed as well, but hen-raised chicks are definitely more skittish in my opinion. I had one cockerel (taken by a hawk ) who was raised alone by a bantam, none of the other eggs hatched, and he was so friendly, he would ask to be picked up and snuggle right in. He would also make happy peeping noises when you came near him.

I think it's just, birds of a feather flock together. If the chicks were raised with other chicks and learning from a hen, they will be nervous around humans and prefer chickens. If a chick is raised by a human, it will feel comfortable around humans.

I guess I don’t really feel like the minimal handling I did would have made such a difference.

How do you deal when you need to handle the hen raised chickens?

 

[Folly's place]

If possible, I handle mine off their roosts at night. Some birds will get 'friendlier' and more relaxed over time, if you sit around out there with food. Others will be skittish forever.
I also feel that at least at times, the calmer birds are more apt to be picked off by predators, not best for them. Being careful pays off as part of a prey species!
Mary

 

[centrarchid]

Momma can impact how young respond to you. If mother not used to humans, then she will behave in a manner that makes chicks scared of you. If she is used to people, then she can calm them. My games have a default setting of being very flighty. With minimal handling of all my hens when they are chicks themselves, I now have hens that rear easy to handle chicks without any selection for less flighty genetics. Approach should work with most breeds.

 

[Acre4Me]

We’ve had both momma hen raised and people raised chicks. Same momma hen, always adopted day-old to five-day old purchased chicks. Momma raised chicks have been much more wary of us, but still varies among personality. By the time the girls are laying, they have mellowed out and not so wary of us, but personality will impact this.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

All 12 of my year-old hens were purchased as day-olds and hand raised with lots of handling - at least, I tried. The five Brown Leghorns absolutely never took to being handled, never accepted treats, ran and hid, and still freak out whenever we get within about 8 feet of them. I mean they scream and fly. The EEs on the other hand, cluster around my feet whether it's treat time or not, and I have to take care not to step on them or trip over them. I don't pick them up or cuddle any of them but one of them looks as if she'd like me to. As for handling, we do that at night, plucking them off the roost. Always have, and they all tolerate it just fine. All five of the BLs survived from day one. I have only 9 remaining of my original 18 EEs. They didn't all go to predators, but some did. Flightiness may not be endearing, but it is a survival skill.