Week Old Silkie Question...My silkies dont like me! (PICS)

[leadwolf1]

If you feed mealworms, the chicks are going to need chick grit. Mealworms are not water soluble therefore, they will need grit in order to digest them. You can find chick grit at Tractor Supply and most feed stores

I will definitely get them some! I want my silkies to love me

 

[ChickenLVR]

Handle them daily and talk to them alot   Treats help but just letting them get to know you seems to work well also.  But, just be prepared you could end up with silkies like this last bunch I got...


  They still allow me to carry all 4 at once and they are almost 6 months old.  They will all gather around my feet and I just reach down and tuck them all in...there they will stay and talk to me for as long as I wish.  I wish the same for you and your chicks..everything except all all these are roos  

Oh my! This is the sweetest thing I've ever seen! I hope my silkies love me that much! We spent a lot of time together today and plan to keep at it! thank you for sharing your advice and photo!

 

[ChickenLVR]

Thanks for the advice! I really appreciate it! I will be headed to the supply store tomorrow for meal worms and grit

If you feed mealworms, the chicks are going to need chick grit.  Mealworms are not water soluble therefore, they will need grit in order to digest them.  You can find chick grit at Tractor Supply and most feed stores


 

 

[leadwolf1]

You are very welcome I love showing off my 'babies' even if they are all grown up and crowing now

 

[3GChicks]

Oh my goodness, they are beautiful! We are new to chickens also and we had the same problem with our silkies. We have 3 10 week old silkies, a splash, a cuckoo and a porcelain. We got them when they were 4 weeks old and they did the exact same thing.

The best advise we were given was to handle them a couple times a day. Ours are great now, they do not like being picked up but I do not think any chicken does. Ours are friendly and our hen will sit in my lap and just sit there and let me pet her. It is just going to take some time and patience. They will get use to you.

Oh, and when we handled them we put them right up to our face talked softly to them that way they got use to our voices.

Good luck!

 

[leadwolf1]

I only slightly disagree...quite a few of my chickens love to be picked up and cuddled

Oh my goodness, they are beautiful! We are new to chickens also and we had the same problem with our silkies. We have 3 10 week old silkies, a splash, a cuckoo and a porcelain. We got them when they were 4 weeks old and they did the exact same thing.

The best advise we were given was to handle them a couple times a day. Ours are great now, they do not like being picked up but I do not think any chicken does. Ours are friendly and our hen will sit in my lap and just sit there and let me pet her. It is just going to take some time and patience. They will get use to you.

Oh, and when we handled them we put them right up to our face talked softly to them that way they got use to our voices.

Good luck!

 

[AnimalLady123]

I wish my chickens were like that!! They won't let me get 5 feet unless they come to me!!

My lovely Haan and Kip!! But you can't see Kip...Haan is a BIG photo hog( Or should I say 'chicken' )

 

[California_chickie]

Dont get too frustrated- it will get easier! We got our first set of silkies girls when they were months old and had been in a large pen with others- handled occasionally but not that much. Once we brought them home they initially didn't want anything to do with us- they wanted to be with their siblings! But patience is a virtue! With time and treats, they absolutely came around. Now they are little lap dogs. The same will happen to you, promise!
Oh. and teaching them to go up the ramp was hilarious too!

 

[Henrietta7]

I don't have silkies but most chicks are pretty timid.

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

Oh my goodness, they are beautiful! We are new to chickens also and we had the same problem with our silkies. We have 3 10 week old silkies, a splash, a cuckoo and a porcelain. We got them when they were 4 weeks old and they did the exact same thing.

The best advise we were given was to handle them a couple times a day. Ours are great now, they do not like being picked up but I do not think any chicken does. Ours are friendly and our hen will sit in my lap and just sit there and let me pet her. It is just going to take some time and patience. They will get use to you.

Oh, and when we handled them we put them right up to our face talked softly to them that way they got use to our voices.

Good luck!

I have to disagree me and many friends who are breeders have birds who WANT to be picked up and doted on. Best way in my opinion to stop the fear of being picked up, is a different type brooder. my first brooder they are in is a tote, they are at the most skittish age - but also the learning stage. They're usually only in a tote/box for a couple weeks then go out in the heated rabbit hutch. This puts them on level with me (or me on their level) so I can reach in instead of reach down. at that awkward stage (3-8 weeks) they tend to still be decently skittish, but they quickly start learning that you feed them great treats, feed and water them and with talking to them they get accustomed to your voice, your habits, etc. with a hutch type brooder you're not swooping down like a predator and can pick them up from the bellies, and then tuck them into your body, and rub them. By the time mine graduate to the ground and within a couple weeks to acclimate to outside on the ground they hover around my feet, make me crazy because I have to watch EVERY step I take, and if I wear flip flops I'm in trouble because they are after my toes. I sit down on my spot in the run and they all huddle around me and are easy to pick up, and once sitting on my lap or held to my body they are very content. Chickens are prey animals, and also because they aren't flyers to have their feet off the ground and no purchase freaks them out, so the quicker you can get them from the belly in a secure grasp and into your lap or against your body/under your arm when they are bigger - the more secure they feel.

It takes time and patience because up until about 2 months chicks are very sensitive. I have some who are 2-3 weeks old and are extremely outgoing right now, will be the first over to my hand to peck it when I reach in to feed or water them, while others about kill themselves tripping over themselves in the corner. This is normal, they are all different, and take longer to accept that we aren't what their inate instincts are telling them we are (predator)...

Good luck with everyone's babies!