Will my chicks get more brave/curious?

[DuluthHomestead]

Gotta say, since getting chicks the old Chicken Little story is making a lot more sense. "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!"

I have three Australorps that are about ten to fourteen days old now. A few days ago, I thought the sand I was using as bedding wasn't very cozy, so I filled a small box with pine shavings and put that in their brooder if they wanted to snuggle in it. They cowered in the opposite corner of their brooder behind the waterer making plaintive peeping noises for fifteen minutes until I took it out. Today I thought they might get bored in a brooder with just sand, food, water and one roost, so I put a rock in there for them to climb on or run around. It is a rock. It is a brown rock about the size of my hand. But again, they cowered in the corner avoiding it and after a while I took it out. Every day when I scoop out their poop it is The End of the World. The few times I have picked them up they squawk and squirm so much that I feel bad trying and don't want to stress them out and make them afraid of me.

They do eat out of my hand, and they magically muster up some courage when food is involved (when I put a slice of tomato in there, a new treat for them, they were on it within a minute). But I would like them to eventually be more adaptable to small changes (like the appearance of an inert rock) so that they do not completely freak out down the road when I bring them outside or move them to the coop or need to pick one of them up for medical treatment, etc., and I don't want them to get bored and start picking on each other. I was wondering if my chicks will get more brave and curious as they get older, or if there was anything I could do to get them to be a bit less cowardly.

 

[ShawnaScott]

They're only about two weeks old right now, not even fully feathered out. It's completely normal for chicks to act like that, especially since it sounds like you don't interact a whole awful lot with them. They will definately get more adventurous as time goes on, though if you don't interact with them more they may still be people shy. I would, if you have any way to do it, set up a room/corner where you can get in with the chicks and sit more at their level. Bring treats. Eventually (after about a week) you should see a vast improvement on their character.

 

[donrae]

Those chicks know they're at the bottom of the food chain, and their best chance for survival is to stay together and avoid anything new or scary. Especially since they don't have a momma to show them what's okay, it's normal for brooded chicks to be freaked by anything different. They'll get braver as they get older.

 

[DuluthHomestead]

ShawnaScott -- I am in there all the time. I clean the brooder and change the water/top off the feeder daily, plus I hand feed them chick starter or offer them a treat at least five times a day, plus since they are in the mudroom just off of my kitchen I pass through the room and talk to them more often than I could count. They are not afraid of ME--they eat out of my hand and make happy chirping noises when I come in the room. They are afraid of what I would consider minor changes to the brooder.

donrae -- I guess I will keep doing what I'm doing and hope they get braver as they get older.

 

[kemclaughlin]

They do get more brave. Mine were handled all the time as babies, then went through a phase where they were all afraid of me. Now when I go out to the run, the older ones come toward me and want treats and to be pet. A few of them want to be picked up. But these girls were very, very flighty as chicks.

 

[Chicks Galore3]

My experience of chicks is this- 1-2 weeks old, freak out because of everything. They calm down a bit for the next several weeks, then at about the 6 week period, they freak out again. I have no idea why!

 

[2Sesslers]

I barely touched my first group of girls, which is now 6-8 weeks old. I am a total Rookie and am still playing it one day at a time. Now, they are out in their coop/run and I still talk to them, feed them, am around a lot. They have warmed up A LOT to me. They will now come to the side of the run if I am near, hoping for treats. It has taken about a week, but now when I crouch down they come over to see me, even if I don't have treats. They don't run sqwaking anymore...

Now the 2 chicks I got a week ago are terrified. I don't let their squwaking scare me away from touching them, being in their brooder. I still talk calmly to them and do my thing. I have introduced new things, and just leave it be. They get used to it on their own time. They're chickens, but they're still smart. They will come around

 

[crowinncluckn]

They will get better with time. Chickens are flock oriented and follow the leader. They stick together for safety, so if the leader ducks in the corner they will too. I wouldn't worry about it. Try adding the rock back into the brooder in about a week. Mine really calmed down when they began to lay. They are far more accepting on new things as adults than when they were chicks. When I add something new now they may turn there noses up but they are not afraid of it and eventually their curiosity gets the better of them and they check it out.