Eglu Go With 2m Run For Sale

[Cheaky Chick]

Hi all..can any1 give me some advice please ? im getting chickens soon and really wanted them to get really friendly and tame so some1 suggested i get chicks..is this a good idea for a first timer and what package comes with having chicks ? i think they will be about a week old

[surfer_chicken]

I don't think it would be a good idea, personally, for a first time chicken owner to start with chicks. I have owned chickens for nearly three years now and hatched my first chicks this summer and they need a lot more care and maintenance than adult birds. Plus you take the risk of getting cockerels, or more cockerels than hens.

 

This guide should give you an idea of what chicks need: http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=61&t=46122

 

Edit: If you want tame hens, then I would suggest getting hybrids. People on here can give you plenty of advice on what type to get. My amber star, Lily, is the tamest hen I've ever met to the point where I swear she thinks she is a dog

[Cheaky Chick]

Thanks for the advice prob wont go for chicks then..i really like the gingernut ranger and the white ones lol dont know what there called just love the look of them lol...can anybody tell me honestly what the most easy to tame is ? would like really friendly chickens like sitting on us an all that...dont want them running away..i no im asking alot of a chicken lol

[peachachecha]

I don't know the answer - I have only been keeping chickens since 9 August. Mine come running now when I go to the run, just have lots of treats to hand feed them with, especially meal worms! I do believe meal worms will tame any chicken.

[Olly]

I don't think the breed matters much - and even in a 'friendly' breed of hen, you could get the odd aloof one. Start, as peachecha says, by feeding them treats and you'll be able to persuade them to eat out of your hand before long.

 

Personally I don't encourage mine to sit on me. The consequences for one's clothing can be severe, and there will be times when you want to enjoy a quiet cup of tea and a biscuit in the garden without being mobbed!

[emmastar]

I started with chicks and it was so worrying, thinking things were wrong and all was fine . Also having them in the house for weeks was noisy and messy .

I also have some that i got older that went outside instantley i got them and if anything they are more loving !

my best are my peekings they can be picked up and come to your hand to be scoped up soooo cute .

Only had my cochin a few days but she is super friendley but will be a big girl .

[emmastar]

Personally I don't encourage mine to sit on me. The consequences for one's clothing can be severe, and there will be times when you want to enjoy a quiet cup of tea and a biscuit in the garden without being mobbed!

 

Agree mine will steal food from my kids hands now if they are eating outside my silkies are the worst for this

[counturchickens]

We started with ex batts, and they are all really tame.

[zakjon-98]

My Sussex are very friendly and lay lots of eggs. Their very pretty too especially speckled

[Chortle Chook]

I've found that my Frizzles are more friendly than my Silkies. The latter are perhaps a tad aloof. I can pick them up easily and they come round my feet when I give them treats but they are not friendly the way my Frizzles are. These talk away to me, hop on my knee, follow me about, come for strokes etc. etc. just as if they were wee dogs.

[Mercedes55]

Some breeds have a tendency to be more friendly but it is hard to generalise. We started off with 4 ex batts. One of them is so tame she will come into the house and loves being stroked and picked up. The other 3 are not as friendly and one we can't even get close to, although all will eat out of our hands.

 

We also have some posh girls. Our Cream Legbar is as mad as a box of frogs and hates being handled. Our Lavender Araucana is pretty similar. Our Welsummer is more friendly but still doesn't like being handled. We also had a Salmon Favorelle and I have to say she was a delight to own and in general Favorelles are friendly, but once again I'm sure there will be someone out there who has one who isn't!

 

We also have a White Leghorn and a Sussex Ranger and neither of those like to be picked up, but they will eat out of our hands.

[Redwing]

Its very hard to say which birds are more easily tamed

 

I'd always choose bantams personally but hybrids are usually pretty easy to tame

 

Most breeds in the true bantam or heavy bantam groups are likely to be more docile than ones in the light breed group

 

Details of the groups and pics of some breeds are here: http://www.poultryclub.org/breed-gallery/

 

Start by reading as much as you can on starting with chickens

 

Chicks for a first timer are not a good idea, apart from anything the set ups needed for them as chicks and then as adults makes it more expensive

[Space Chick]

Asking what chickens are easy to tame is like asking what nationality is the nicest

 

Chickens are individuals... someone has mentioned their Cream Legbar is mad, mine is a docile sweetheart that loves a cuddle.

 

That said, as Redwing said hybrids tend to be easier to tame... I started with a Black Rock, a Speckledy, a warren and a white star... all were very happy to jump on my lap and have a fuss in time. However, hybrids are cheekier as a general rule, you mention friendly and really tame as a requirement, if its because of small children, then hybrids with their cheeky streak can peck.

 

Bantams are a good starter too, but will probably stop laying in winter... something like a Sussex bantam or a Wyandotte bantam are great, hardy birds but generally not as cheeky as hybrids.

 

I agree, don't start with chicks, they do take a lot more care, so not ideal for a beginner.

[Mercedes55]

Asking what chickens are easy to tame is like asking what nationality is the nicest

 

Absolutely spot on .

 

are individuals... someone has mentioned their Cream Legbar is mad, mine is a docile sweetheart that loves a cuddle.

Yes that would be me, our Chloe is a total head case

[Will-99]

I have 2 Chamois Polish Bantams, they are really friendly. They perch on my hand and like Shiny things, also great for Pets!

[Leicester_H]

Hi

Most will do anything for food and they crave attention.

If you give them a FEW treats (in the afternoon when they have eaten suffiecient 'proper' food) and a lot of attention, I'm sure you will have some happy friendly chooks.

See my videos in the link below (in signature)

Good Luck - let us know whet you decide.

H

[AlisonH]

My Amber star will sit on my lap and cuddle up. Both her and the Blue bell happily allow you to stroke them and will run up as soon as you come up. But a lot of the time it's down to spending time with them and getting them used to being picked up.

[MaggieMcHen]

I have had hybrid POL and they were pretty varied - I hand fed them every day, sat with them and played the radio in their run whilst I worked in there. Some loved wandering around my feet and attempting to grab anything that wiggled, the grandchildren picked them up and cuddled them. The White Leghorn was the least happy to be picked up.

This time I have 9 youngsters, 8 - 10 weeks a week ago, so that I can work with them for longer, from a young age. They are already sitting ON my hand if I have maggots from the fishing shop!!! I have two Buff Plymouth Rock Bantams, three Cream Legbar, one Welsummer, one Wernlas Olive, one Brown Leghorn and one Welbar. They are lovely and already have very different characters. The two banties are the most inquisitive!

Good luck what ever you choose - I don't know what is best -I think what ever you have if you work with them consistently they will be friendly and calm.

[Lavenders_Blue]

I'd say get what you like the look of and then work on taming them. Feed treats from your hand, put treats into your lap for them to jump up and get, handle them as much as you can.

 

My ex batts will follow me round all day long given the chance and they do love to hop onto my lap for a snooze. But... they really do hate being picked up. Any cuddles/attention has to be on their terms!

 

I think chickens as a species are not 'affectionate' in the same way that a dog or a cat is. They like humans and like to be around them, but only (I think) because we are the provider of food. Also a lap makes a good lookout/vantage point and is also nice and warm to sit on. But I don't think they have the same need for affection. I just know someone is going to disagree with me though!

[sparkysmum]

Have to agree with Lavenders post. I don't think chickens are by nature affectionate to people but they can be tamed. My ex batts were soooooooooo friendly and my faverolle is a real honey. Very calm & docile My araucana on the other hand is as calm as a bag of ferrets but lays stunning eggs (her only saving grace) Of the bantams my sablepoot is happy to be picked up. The dumpies are calm & docile but not keen on being picked up yet although I think this will come. The chicks are still wild. Good luck Alli x

[surfer_chicken]

If you can, watch the flock at the breeder's for a while and handle a few to try and judge their character. Then you can pick out the friendliest and they should be easier to tame.

[Cheaky Chick]

Thanks loads you are all being a great help i think then im just gonna go and see how i feel when i meet them and just spend alot of time with them..that does sound like the best thing..the roof of the wir is nearly finished so then just need to buy all the things that chickens need (have no idea) then i can go get my new family members..will need to see on hear if theres a topic about what chickens need

[Chortle Chook]

I think chickens as a species are not 'affectionate' in the same way that a dog or a cat is. They like humans and like to be around them, but only (I think) because we are the provider of food. Also a lap makes a good lookout/vantage point and is also nice and warm to sit on. But I don't think they have the same need for affection.

I agree. I think it is that chickens, unlike dogs, don't relate to humans. They like us as a source of goodies whether these are hand fed meal worms or garden worms dug up by our trowels and spades. Perhaps it is because they are not mammals but birds. Their whole view of life is just different. I can't see my chickens ever coming up to me to wipe away a tear the way my dogs do.

[Chortle Chook]

..will need to see on hear if theres a topic about what chickens need

This Shopping List for Newbies might help you but of course you would not need to get it all straight away. Really you just need to start off with bedding material (loads of us on here like 'Aubiose'), food (pellets or mash), treats (a small tub of meal worms and a small bag of corn) and some form of beastie repellent (I use Diatom). Then you can add to it bit by bit, in fact the adding bit is all part of the fun. If you are like many of us on here you'll soon have so many chicky things you'll be moving OH out of the shed to fit it all in, and that's after OH has moved out of the sitting room

[Benaberry]

I can't see my chickens ever coming up to me to wipe away a tear the way my dogs do.

 

I nearly when I saw that - my lab girl does that too - and gets herself in a real state if I'm upset

 

Agree that chickens are very much individuals. My old cream legbar, Delilah, whilst a nutter was also very, very friendly and tame - although I have my suspicions that she thought she was a parrot; a shoulder made a very hand perch for her

 

My orpington girls are very chilled out and taming nicely now, not quite as tame yet as the old Buff Orp was, but getting there. It really is a case of seeing them and judging for yourself