Your thoughts on having "tame" chicks??

[dirtbath]

I do believe that they are tamer when they are older. As chicks, they are always unsure and nervous about everything. Noises, hands inside the brooder, food-you name it, they are freaked. So as older chicks and adult chickens, they seem a lot more sure of themselves and surroundings. Yesterday I took all of them out of the brooder and set them on the carpet. They all just froze there for 5 minutes and wouldn't move. Today I tried giving them a mealworm. They just stared at it with their one eyeball to the ground. No one wanted to actually eat it. It was hilarious. But I know in another month, they will be totally different beings.

 

[xxxgeorgiexxx]

i have been trying to tame my chickens and ducks 2day all i did was sit in the middle of the field with food in my hands and they were all coming up 2 me and eating and the ducks don't usually come near me i am going to just do that everyday and spent time with them.

 

[chickenlife01]

From my experience with chicks, no matter how long you hold them each day or how loving you are, their instinct when they see something that is different is always the same. They're very flighty creatures and are startled so easily! If you're trying to hold them, the best way to approach is slowly with fluid movements. It gives them enough time to recognize you and see that you're not dangerous. I love holding my chicks and they do enjoy my hair a lot, but in the end they're chickens and enjoy being a chicken! My grown up 'ladies' let me walk among them and 'share' their food... I raised them all the same, just slow and gentle. Chickens like routine (mine KNOW when it's time to eat) so try to do at least something the same everyday. I have a chick named Rico that has a bad eye (he was hatched with a milky film over it?) and he stays separated from the rest of the chicks because they peck at it. He is TOTALLY different. He enjoys being held and sees me as his Mom. He doesn't run and he cries when I put him back in his cage (he's 3 weeks old). There's definitely a difference if they're raised separately or with other chicks... though I DO NOT RECOMMEND TAKING A CHICK FROM ITS SIBLINGS! Rico is only alone because he has to be or I'm afraid they'll 'take out the weak link' as chickens do when they notice another struggling.

 

[Kim Ostrander]

Greetings! I am a first time chicken owner. I have 4 Millie Fleur Bantams, 1 rooster and 3 hens. They are approx 4 months old. I love them but am a little afraid of them. I have them in a coop together. I can not pick one up because I can't catch one! Any suggestions on how I can get one of them to hold it? Also, am I ok to have the too in with the hens?

 

[showjumper_girl2002]

When I hatched my 5 chicks I held and cuddled with them everyday. As they got a little older I kept them out to spend time with them for longer periods of time till I was playing with them for an hr or so twice a day everyday. They are now 2 months old and come when I call them, snuggle in my lap when I sit outside with them and enjoy being held and cuddled. Ever since they were babies when I would go to take them out for our play time I would call chick chick chick and they very quickly learned they were getting play time and still to this day go nuts and run to their door when they here me walking up calling chick chick chick and get so excited to see me they are very much tame and my pets and I love them to death! If I were u I Would take them out multiple times a day every day like I did. Don't be afraid to keep them out with you for an hr or so but keep feed and water by them in case they want some. I put towels on my sofa when they were little and would watch tv with them....yes they're spoiled if your ok with that sofas work good because they only have so far they can go and they will get used to your company. Don't be afraid to handle them, in my opinion there's no such thing as handling too much. My chicks are my first but they've turned out great and I handled them a lot and still to this day spend an hr or two with them once or twice a day everyday. Treats are also good to use. Good luck and enjoy your new chicks!

 

[PrecioustoHim]

Okay, so at what point do the chicks start to calm down? I have 9 SF's { Salmon Faverolles}


(she is struggling to get away here, and she is one of the quieter ones)
and 4 Ameraucana chicks


(sitting nice and calm and pretty)

all living together....all hatched at the same time, and I have been handling them all the exact same every day since day 1. But the SF's are still wild and will not allow me to pick them up without a lot of fluttering and fuss, and they will not sit quietly when I hold them. A couple of them will even try to bite me when i am holding them. However, the Ameraucana chicks are allowing me to reach for them and scoop them up from the ground, hold them in the palm of my hand....they sit quietly and then i can place them back on the ground again and they quietly walk away. The SF's squawk and flutter upsetting the whole bunch when I set them down. As soon as their feet touch the floor they run, wings fluttering. Did I get some bad inbred SF chicks?


I did a lot of research before choosing this breed and everything i found says that SF's are gentle and quiet. You sure couldn't prove that by these chicks.
I have brought them in the house and held them on my lap while i watch TV, and i have stroked them and sang to them until the fall asleep for a while in my lap, in my hand. They seem nice and calm. Then i take them back to the coop and set them down and the fluttering starts and away they go. I try to pick the same chick right back up again and no go, can't even get close.