Will I be able to have friendly chickens?

[Tapsmom]

Hi,
Yet another newbie question. Our chicks are almost 3 weeks old. I will try to get some pics and post them soon, too Anyways, my concern is that they still seem to be skittish and I won't really be able to spend much tim with them for about another month..or at least until after April 18th. (I'm a tax preparer) They are in a 2 foot by 3 foot brooder and a few will come and eat from my hand. The largest one (the Americuana) seems terrified to come too closely. I have been lifting the sheet on the front of their brooder so they can see everyone and they do come to the edge to see us fairly quickly. I am just worried that if I can't spend time with them to tame them now I will have more difficulty later..or am I worrying unnecessarily?

 

[chicky_mommy]

The first bird that was ever truely mine....not mine and my grandfather's....was a 9month old White Leghorn (notoriously skittish and antisocial birds) and never in her life was she cuddly or affectionate...she was basically stand-offish unless you had food and then she wanted you out of her gosh darn way the faster the better...

But if your birds are of a friendlier breed and only a couple months old you should be able to have nice birds it just might take a little extra time.

 

[Tapsmom]

The birds I have are as follows: 3 buff Orpingtons, 1 Production Red, I Americuana, and 1 Wyandatte. The Wyandotte seems to be the one that comes to my hand most quickly. The Americuana is the really skittish one. According to my research these breeds should have the friendly personalities, but these are my first chickens so I don't know how accurate my findings were.

 

[san415]

My hens are sometimes very friendly and will let us touch and pet them. But they are always some what friendly, not afraid of us or our dogs. And all will eat out of our hands. I have 6 hens and 2 baby chicks. hens in order of how friendly they are. easter egger, Silkie, comet, polish, cuckoo maran, seabright, and I also have two chicks, a buff brahma and a gold laced wyndotte. They are all very curious about people and all rush up to the closest part of the fence when they hear the door or the garage open. Ummm....we feed them treats alot so they rush us hoping for food tid bits.

 

[martinfarms]

Quote:
My wyandattes are the same way some of the first to come up to me at feeding time then the rest of them are soon right behind with the leghorns and rir some of them hop onto my arm. they are three weeks old and brooding in a 300gal aquarium and ready for the big move this weekend into the yard barn turned to a coop that will hold all 24 nicely we are using 5gal buckets with 1/2 the lids cut away for nesting bins. We saw this method on a few videos we watched and are far easyier to clean out.

 

[martinfarms]

Quote:
My family from KY, have raised chickens for a long time so I thought I would give it a shot my mom tells my that my uncle had the happiest hens in hancock county notorious for double yolked eggs. His secret was [ mind you this was in the early 40's] feeding them hemp and a radio placed near them. Its said to very effective for shy birds also acclimates them to noise so things like a lawnmower etc wont freak them out when they are scared they can trimpel eachother when they huddle up in a panic.So start them on some music if you can. Mine tend to like classic rock for some reason lol. It's the onle station I can pick up in the basement.

 

[N&MSchroeder]

It isn't always possible to spend as much time with your chicks as you would like. I talk to my chicks as I walk past them, even if I don't have time to stop and play. You are doing the right thing by letting them see you, just make sure that they hear you as well, and soon, they will be all over you.

 

[flowerchicks]

I only have 12 chickens (had 13 but lost one

) but in my experience, the older they get, the more friendly they are. I am sure that has to do with them feeling more confident in me and their surroundings. I have some chickens that have been outgoing and friendly since they were chicks. I have an ee that was sort of friendly as a chick and is now very stand-offish and hates to be touched. I have an australorp that has never been friendly, she is just very shy. My RIR and BR were outgoing and curious as chicks, and are the first to come running when they see me. My BR practically demands attention. They all have their own personallities, just like all animals (and people). Don't worry, as long as they see and interact with you on a regular basis, they will tame up. Before you know it, you will be posting about how to make your chickens leave you along

 

[Patricia Jane]

I have four and they all come running to the gate when they hear me coming. The most friendliest are my BR's. One likes to be held, the other I can pet. I also have a Columbian Wyandotte who is standoffish. My LH is extremely unfriendly. They all will eat out of my hand. I've only had them a couple of months so I hope I still have a chance with the Wyandotte and LH. They all have great personality.

 

[chknmomma]

I think I read somewhere that all chickens are skittish in the chick stage and teenager stage, then warm up later.

In our first year this is very true. Our chicks were really skittish and even more so as they got bigger. However as adult birds, they hang out on our deck now (it's kind of a problem!). When they hear the back door open or see me in the kitchen, they come running to greet me. I call them my dogs. Literally I feel like I have dogs with feathers instead of fur.

My two sweetest are a Rhode Island Red (and best layer - daily all through winter!) and a buff laced wyandotte. My most skittish is a buff brahma which are supposed to be very docile. The others will stop and let you pick them up. The brahma runs away and is the hardest to catch. But once you get her, I am noticing that she really likes to be rocked. FYI - my 2yro can catch and play with our RIR. The oddest thing!

Also of note, I think that the more you handle them from the beginning, the better. However, that's not to say that you can't make up for lost time after tax season. It seems like once our chickens (as adults - 6+ months old) realized that the big lady brings treats, they got it! Humans = good! They are spoiled rotten.

OH, and we just got 2 baby silkies. They are by far the biggest wussy chickens ever. I think of them like chihuahuas of the chicken world. They just want to be carried and snuggled. Our other chick breeds weren't like that, but these 2 just want to be coddled.

Enjoy your chicks!