Will our chickens ever be "friendly"

[bwek1114]

Hey, so this is our first time with chickens. They are about 11 weeks old now. When they were babies and under the lamp we handled them all the time, pet them, spent time with them, knowing we wanted to have "friendly" chickens. Now they are quite skittish, defiantly can't pick them up and when we do go to pet them they squak and jump away. Are they just being "teenagers"... Is there anything we can do to help them get over this. My 3 year old spends every moment she can with them. Brings them treats, talks to them... She just wants to pet them so badly and they just won't let her... And it's not just her. They are the same with me as well. I thought we did enough when they were super young to get them used to us. But since being outside it's just not the same!
Any insight would be much appreciated.

 

[chicknmania]

Breed has something to do with it. Some chickens just won't "tame up" that way. But they will get very used to you, and though they won't exactly be like a dog, they will probably become be very tolerant of your little girl and will probably eventually let her stroke them. We've had a few (very few) very tame chickens...who actually enjoyed being held and followed us around. But the the majority do not. Still, a lot of them will eat out of our hand, and allow us to stroke them or pick them up without too much fuss. Keep working on it.

 

[LRH97]

I would just tell you to keep it up. Eventually they will warm up to the fact that the HUGE thing that's coming in to their space is not there to hurt them. It just takes time, commitment, and consistency. I had gotten 3 Ameraucana hens from a breeder (adults can be A LOT harder to socialize) and all I did was my usual rounds, and now they're sweet as can be. I would suggest sitting in their pen (or whatever setup you have) and holding out their treats in your hand. Eventually you'll get a curious one to come up to you. My chickies and ducklings LOVE the Happy Hen Treats dried mealworms, so maybe try those. Keep trying! Your hard work will rewarded. I will say that all of mine do allow me to stroke their breast, but only a select few will tolerate being held. I mean, when you finally catch one, they'll calm down, but there's only a few that I would say enjoy being held. Best of luck!

 

[centrarchid]

My birds are super tame. As adults, some males and females with come when called and some will allow me to walk over and scoop them up. I did not employ grabbing or petting during training process.

 

[bad-one]

Mine were all shy little butt holes when they were younger. I did handle them some but not too much. Now that they are all maturing they have become much nicer and most of those hens, despite being a lady, think I'd make quite a dashing rooster....

 

[chicknmania]

Also, if you have a rooster, I think it is very important to spend a lot of time, and interaction with them. I don't know if this is the reason that ours are all quite gentle around people. but I think so. They don't necessarily like being caught and held, but they do not, and have never, acted aggressive towards us, or any other humans. and they all have different backgrounds too, not the same breed, or parents.

 

[missnu01]

Hey, so this is our first time with chickens. They are about 11 weeks old now. When they were babies and under the lamp we handled them all the time, pet them, spent time with them, knowing we wanted to have "friendly" chickens. Now they are quite skittish, defiantly can't pick them up and when we do go to pet them they squak and jump away. Are they just being "teenagers"... Is there anything we can do to help them get over this. My 3 year old spends every moment she can with them. Brings them treats, talks to them... She just wants to pet them so badly and they just won't let her... And it's not just her. They are the same with me as well. I thought we did enough when they were super young to get them used to us. But since being outside it's just not the same!
Any insight would be much appreciated.

let their feeder run out for a day and then come out and feed them by hand. You'll have chickens standing on your feet in no time. Now none of my chickens like to be held, but they will all follow me around the yard and eat out of my hands. They are a common prey animal, so skittish-ness keeps them alive. There are some drawbacks to having friendly chickens... they will hop in your car or follow you in the house. You can't do anything outside without having chickens pecking at it. Flip flops are dangerous because apparently human toes look delicious, and when you try to chase them out of an area they look at you like you are crazy. I prefer friendly albeit annoying birds though. I had ducks last year and they hated me forever. They would run like I was some kind of horrible monster even if I was just coming to feed them...and that is no fun. Feeling like a terrorist every time the Ducks set eyes on you. I have turkeys that will pick pocket you, to the dismay of any guests that come over.. either way it's tons of fun.

 

[Michael OShay]

Breed has something to do with it. Some chickens just won't "tame up" that way. But they will get very used to you, and though they won't exactly be like a dog, they will probably become be very tolerant of your little girl and will probably eventually let her stroke them. We've had a few (very few) very tame chickens...who actually enjoyed being held and followed us around. But the the majority do not. Still, a lot of them will eat out of our hand, and allow us to stroke them or pick them up without too much fuss. Keep working on it.

X2. What breeds do you have? Many of the Mediterranean class breeds are skittish and flighty and will never really tame up. Other breeds such as Orpingtons, Australorps, Cochins, Brahmas, and Silkies are very docile and tame readily.

 

[bwek1114]

Thanks everyone for the feed back! After reading this all I defiantly think I was having too high of expectations for my chickens lol.
When we go out to spend time with them they will defiantly come up to us, especially when they hear my little girls voice, she is always the one with treats! She can hold something like a pepper core out and they will peck the seeds out of it while she holds it. It's just as soon as she reaches to stroke one, they will run away.
So I think we are on the right track...and hopefully with time it will only get better!
We have columbian rocks. When I read up on them, they weren't known to be an over skittish breed... Lots said they were fairly tame.
They ran out of food the other day, and you would have thought they had been starved for their entire life!
They came right up to our deck and my daughter sat there and fed them.

I feel silly for even asking now! Thanks everyone!! We will just keep doing what we are doing! We do have a surprise roo in the flock, so I will just make sure to monitor him and make sure he doesn't get out of hand!

 

[chicknmania]

Don't feel silly, of course you want to be able to pet them, and how else will you know unless you ask! You will get a lot of enjoyment out of them, and so will she!

I still vividly remember the two roosters we had when I was little , I and my brothers got a lot of enjoyment out of them.

Have fun, and welcome to BYC!