Why aren’t my Orpington’s friendly?

[6-Hens-and-Me]

Hi all, my Orpington’s are not almost 20 weeks old I’ve had them since 12weeks they are so jumpy and excitable they won’t let me touch them at all, I’ve read that they were one of the friendliest breeds and yet these two just run and are exited all the time, will they calm down with age? Are they always going to do this- how can I get them to be friendly. Please help ASAP.

 

[sourland]

Feed/treats are the great tamers. Have them come to you. Attempting to catch/hold only feeds their fear.

 

[6-Hens-and-Me]

Feed/treats are the great tamers. Have them come to you. Attempting to catch/hold only feeds their fear.

I’ve been using them, won’t work. Guess I’ll have to persist.

 

[StinkyAcres]

IF you've been regularly spending time with them and hand-feeding treats since they were very small they should calm down with age.

 

[6-Hens-and-Me]

Yes I’ve been doing that, only I’ve never had this problem before with any other breeds I’ve kept but I guess these two I will have to persist


I really want them to be friendly because I’d like them to raise chicks when they’re older

 

[sourland]

IF you've been regularly spending time with them and hand-feeding treats since they were very small they should calm down with age.

The problem is that they were 12 weeks old when she got them and most likely had little/no socialization.

 

[StinkyAcres]

The problem is that they were 12 weeks old when she got them and most likely had little/no socialization.

Ah, yep, I missed that.

I still think they will calm down with age but it will be more difficult to get them to be friendly. They will likely only tolerate you rather than want to be with you. But you never know; every individual is different, even those of the same breed.

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

My orpington i have now is friendly. She may not like being held but she comes up to me and eats out of my hand. She broke her nail, and let me hold her anf care for her. Ive had her since she was 3 or 4 days old.
I hatched out some orpingtons(they were cockerels) but i found that the younger you have them the friendlier they are.
But black soldier fly larvae work the best as treats ive found.

 

[fowltemptress]

How much time do you have on a daily basis? Grab a book or some sewing and go out and just sit with them every day. No trying to touch or grab them. Sprinkle some treat around you; don't worry about it if they only eat it after you leave. Eventually put food in your lap or hold food out to them, but do not try to touch them! Maybe it will get to the point where they trust you reaching out for them and maybe it won't, but the best way to give it it's best chance is to never try it when they're sounding out how safe it is to be near you. Once some of them have formed a habit of eating out of your lap/hand, try slowly pushing a hand or finger into their feathers a bit. This should be done in such a way that it doesn't really register to them that you're reaching out to them, but more like they're leaning into you - like it was their idea. You can try pets or little finger wiggles in their feathers after they're used to that. As for actually picking them up, I only ever pick up birds that are super tame to the point that they're underfoot or flying up to my shoulders, or if they need to be doctored, and I never do it without treats because so much built up trust can be undone with that action. The tamer they are (or the more food motivated they are), the shorter the grudge over being picked up, but it's patience, time, and exposure that gets you there.