What is the difference between calm, docile, and friendly

[Folly's place]

All good points, and individuals will have different ways to have human interactions.
Brooksy, you are rewarding your bird for pecking you! Not the best idea, IMO.
Chickens are prey animals, and holding one is a very frightening event for most. They are not lap dogs or kittens! hanging out around you and following you is as friendly as most will ever want to do, and that's fine.
Speckled Sussex hens have been some of our most interactive birds, love them! Then, individuals of many other breeds have been interested in us, including two Jersey Giant hens who did like being held. Mary

 

[micstrachan]

Well, that sucks. I aspirated Minnie while giving her meds this morning. It was just a tiny bit and she’s going to be OK, but now I have to rethink how I’m doing that.

 

[3KillerBs]

I think the terminology used is just whatever whoever writing up the description chooses to use - there's no standard for describing the temperament of a chicken.

But I'll take a guess. Like calm = not flighty/panicky, docile = less likely to be a bully/troublemaker in a flock, and friendly = more friendly to humans?

This makes sense to me.

 

[Brooksy21]

Happy Saturday! Can I just say that I’m pretty sure I just saw a feather fall off of Ruby??? That would be the best thing ever… Because her body might get a natural break from laying hormones. Would it be amazing if she could make it through winter? Sunshine and Roxy but her body language this morning. I’m going to continue Minnie’s calcium and doxycycline, since I already started, and I think there’s a very good chance of her having a reproductive infection since she still squats and has a red comb, but isn’t producing many eggs with shells. Mini Spago healing which is fine, but she still appears not to be eating. Thankfully, she’s also become an easy tube feeding patient, so I’ll just continue to feed her until she gets her own appetite back. It’s a good morning in my flock!

Hi I think you might be responding to the wrong thread. My question is what is the difference between calm, docile, and friendly when it comes to temperament and trying to find more lap chicken breeds. I am really am not sure what you’re talking about. Or are you just making conversation?

 

[Brooksy21]

All good points, and individuals will have different ways to have human interactions.
Brooksy, you are rewarding your bird for pecking you! Not the best idea, IMO.
Chickens are prey animals, and holding one is a very frightening event for most. They are not lap dogs or kittens! hanging out around you and following you is as friendly as most will ever want to do, and that's fine.
Speckled Sussex hens have been some of our most interactive birds, love them! Then, individuals of many other breeds have been interested in us, including two Jersey Giant hens who did like being held. Mary

Thanks for your opinion, I actually try not to pick them up if they have pecked at me. I try to pick them up before they do when I catch them staring at me, this has helpEd tremendously they really don’t peck me to pick them up anymore, I realized that I was rewarding the behavior and stopped already. I just found it interesting that only my BO’s have done this. Like they are friendly but have a tendency to be a little pecky. I have a Crested Legbar girl that hates being picked up so I stopped. Although she still loves to hop into my lap for pets which makes me so happy she’s a sweetheart.

 

[Folly's place]

One of last year's SS pullets was very 'pecky', the worst I've ever had. i sold the other three, and kept her, because she didn't need to go to a new chicken owner. Lots of pecking her back episodes, and she's fine now. Very interested in humans, follows me around, but gave up on the obnoxious, demanding pecking.
So many different personalities out there, fun!
Mary

 

[Brooksy21]

One of last year's SS pullets was very 'pecky', the worst I've ever had. i sold the other three, and kept her, because she didn't need to go to a new chicken owner. Lots of pecking her back episodes, and she's fine now. Very interested in humans, follows me around, but gave up on the obnoxious, demanding pecking.
So many different personalities out there, fun!
Mary

I actually did that too a light tap on the head like a another higher bird on the pecking order might do. I was nervous to do this at first because I really want them to like me but I’ve read that this works well for pecking behavior. I have a lot of moles and freckles on my arms so I had to train them not to try and eat me by the way what is a SS? Speckled Sussex?

 

[Folly's place]

Yes, SS most often means Speckled Sussex. Love the hens, but when we raised cockerels, half were human aggressive. We gave up on having a breeding flock over that, but will always have some hens.
Mary

 

[Brooksy21]

Yes, SS most often means Speckled Sussex. Love the hens, but when we raised cockerels, half were human aggressive. We gave up on having a breeding flock over that, but will always have some hens.
Mary

Good to know, thank you!

 

[primatologica]

In my limited experience, my Dominique is extremely cuddly and calm. Like others have said, my silver laced Wyandotte is calm but not friendly. Her inverse is my Salmon Faverolles, who is friendly but sooooo not calm! My BCM is calm, docile, and pretty friendly (though not as friendly as my Dominique--I think my Dom might have been a golden lab in a previous life ).