unfriendly chickens

[chris deiss]

Hi ! I have a black roo a rir hen 2 speckled sussex 2 silky bantams a partridge cochin 2 plymouth rock bantys a golden laced wyondott and 4 ancona they are all supposed to be friendly birds but they aren't at all. When I open the pen they run like hell and when they are in the yard if you approach them they scatter . Is there some way to get them to come to you they are about 3 months old right now. Thank you

 

[PurpleChicken]

In my experience the most important thing is hand raising and holding them a lot.

The second is hand feeding. Lots of treats help them get used to you.


I've had birds that were like dogs and others that were spazzes. Sometimes they are just born that way.


Finally, one bad bird will ruin the entire flock. Birds react to other birds. If one freaks out a lot then get rid of it. Focus on the friendly birds.


Some birds chill out with age too.

 

[UrbanChick101]

I don't know if this is good or not, since this is only my second week with chickens. Mine are about 6 - 7 months and were raised with a larger flock of 40+ birds (I can only have 6, here in the city) and they were obviously not handled too much, both adults worked outside the home and the chickens were able to free range. They were very frightened and don't care to be handled. If I went in the pen, they go in the coop, if I go in the coop they go in the pen. SO, I have brought them treats almost every single time I go out and visit them. They are starting to flock to the door of the pen, when I come out. And, while my oldest son cleans the coop, some have even went in there with him this week, to check and see what he's doing. They are not going to be able to free range, except while I am out with them, as chickens allowed in our city is a very new change. They seem to like most of what I have brought them, but not everything, but they always come to check it out. I have went out quite a few times and find my kids feeding the chickens grass through the fence, so its nice to see them be able to hand feed them, even if it is through hardware cloth!! I am able to pick up some, without much fuss, and I try to interact with them different times throughout the day. I try to pick up one or two of them a day and let the kids pet them and have a turn holding them. The buff orpingtons are most always the easiest for the kids to hold!!!

 

[wilmothfarms]

Most definitely handle chicks from day one as much as you can and hand feed...makes such a diff. And I agree...some birds are just born nuts! I have culled down my original flock a lot! Very disappointing, but if you can - spend time with them each day, even if all you can do at first is just sit, if thats all they will tolerate, it wont take them long to warm up to you. It will give you a chance to observe which bird or birds that are driving the flock crazy and you can choose from there if you want to sell those birds or not. Also once they start laying, if you can get them to respect you now, by starting to feed them treats each day, throw some scratch each day too, then when they start to see you as the head flock member, they will start to see you as the "rooster" and start to squat and make it easy to pick them up.
*******One thing to do that works the BEST in my opinion...get in there go chicken chasing....catch ya a bird and hold her for as long as ya want!!! Make her know you wont hurt her. Sit her in your lap and gently cup your hand over her head (not blocking her nose)that will make it dark and she will stop struggling for you in a very short order. After a min or two once she has relaxed and laid down in your lap, slowly lift your hand and she should keep laying there. Still keep your other hand on her holding her tho. You can then pet her with your loose hand and then slowly just let go, she may choose to sit there for awhile and let you pet her and she'll sing soft and sweet to you or she may just jump up....that gentles them down the fastest for me. Works every time, even for a roo!!!! (just be careful and dont handle roos much or baby them it can turn them mean in the end) You'll have to keep doing it, but they will gentle down, and it will help you see which birds are the ones causing the problems too, they will be the ones who never sit in your laps!!!! Good luck! Also so breeds are just that way - no easy to handle and dont care for human contact...

 

[wilmothfarms]

Quote:
Looks to me like your doing all the right things! The more interaction - the better!!!!

 

[AinaWGSD]

First, let's start by defining "friendly" here. This is a subjective thing and I think a lot of people are disappointed when they get a "friendly" breed and it doesn't quite measure up to their idea of "friendly." Chickens are not cats or dogs and rarely do they want human attention unless they have been conditioned to look for it. It's just not a natural chicken behavior, after all you're big enough to eat them and instinct has hardwired them to be wary of anything big enough to eat them until they have determined that it won't. For some people, "friendly" means a chicken who just doesn't freak out when they walk past with roosters who won't attack them the instant they step into the run. For others, it means a bird that will come up and be nosey while they're doing yard work. And for some, it means a bird that will seek them out, ask (or demand!) attention, enjoy being petted, etc. If you want the last one, you really have to handle them a lot from day one (as in right after hatching, not right after you get them as 2-3 month olds or older) and make sure they see you as the source of all things wonderful.

Second, almost all chickens go through a phase when they think that people are scary, usually starting about the age that your birds are, even if they were cuddly as chicks. Usually once they start laying they start to mellow out and will become friendlier (even some chickens that were not previously "friendly").

I would bring yummy treats for them and just sit out in the yard with them. Hand feed them treats (you may have to toss the treats to them at first, slowly throwing them closer to you so that they get used to the idea that you are a bringer of good things. Just sit still for a while and let them get used to your presence. Bring a book, or your laptop, or a checkbook or something to do if you aren't the type who can just sit there and do nothing but watch the chickens.

 

[WisconsinChickenWhisperer]

In my experience, Ancona's are not the friendliest chickens in the world. I had two of them in my flock of then 17 pullets. While the other 15 girls would come around me on a regular basis, let me pet them, eat from my hand, etc. , those two Ancona's only came around me when they wanted to peck me or just plain give me the ol stink eye. I do have one of them as my avatar, it's a good pic IMO......anyway, I had one of my co workers give me a roo, and she brought her 10 yr. old boy with her when she brought the roo over. Her son fell in love with the Ancona's, and so with mom's permission, I gave them to him. Her chickens free range, and she wasn't all that concerned about them being friendly, so, I essentially traded her two pullets for the roo, even though that's not how the deal started.

 

[wilmothfarms]

Quote: