So, someone on the classroom@ the coop message board (yes, sorry I'm cheating on you guys and starting to look there too ~ but i swear, I always post here first!) had the best idea for making chicks super friendly.
You call to them and put little pieces of corn ( the frozen kind us humans eat) in your hand. It took my girls about 5 minutes to realize it was edible. But once they did they went NUTS! I called "here, chick chick chick" as I fed them. ( it is what I use to call the big girls, so I thought it would be good to introduce it)
Well, anyway, the next time I put my hand in there, they ran over to me instead of away! I have fed them a few more peices of corn the same way over the course of the day and it is amazing the difference it makes. They are so much more comfortable with me already. Nothing like a little bribery.
It is such a simple idea, but it really works! This is a straight run bunch, so I really want to handle them a lot. I gotta keep those roos friendly as long as possible. Now I just have to figure out who IS a roo! lol
Fabulous idea from classroom @ the coop
BackyardHens, that is an AWESOME idea!! I will do the same with my next bunch of chicks and let you know how it goes! Thanks for sharing!! ...I can't wait to try it out!
~~ Glenda
That is cool that they like corn..
Here's a quetion for you will the male silkie mate with my bared
rocks??? son's bus driver said it would make barn yard chicks!!
But I don't know...
Tracey
Hmmmm, frozen Corn!!! Great! Thats a super idea!!!!
Tracey..... I think Roosters will try to mate with any Hen! But in this case... Its probably going to be up to the Hens!!!!! Barred Rock Hens can be very Choosy!!LOL!!!!
right. I'm enjoying picturing the size differential. It's like a Toy Poodle and a German Shepard. possible, but unlikely :)
In this case I think its the Blue Face!!!! LOL!!!!
BYH - that worked like a charm over the weekend.
Just had to tell you I went from big bad scary thing who MUST be ran away from to their best friend overnight (they now fight to be near me LOL) - thank you so much.
Me too! I just say hi and they are all over me. Nothing like a little bribery. Corn works great and they like the soft part of cucumber now, too, but peas don't go over very big and rice is right out.
Peas went over the first day now forget it, try the peanut butter thats FUNNY.
How early can you start feeding them other stuff? Mine haven't had anything except the starter food and some grit. They do of course drink a lot of water. LOL They did try to feast on maple seeds the one day they were outside but I took them away since I didn't know if they were safe. I really need to do more reading!
We are so happy we bought the chicks! They are so fascinating and friendly. They are growing unbelievably fast!
I wouldn't worry about it. In the wild they would be foraging on all sorts of stuff. MIne love a few treats, but i have to cut it up really small with my fingernail for them to recognize it as food! LOL!
go for it. my chicks are younger than yours are and it hasn't seemed to have hurt them any, and now they see me as the bringer of treats and come to say hi to me whenever they hear my voice.
Oh my! I need to focus my eyes. I thought that last sentence said they are bringing you treats now. ROTFLOL Nice gesture, just don't think I'd eat it. LOL
I just went out to check on them and pet them and talk to them, checked their water and got them more food. They are so darn cute! It's funny to me that the darker colored ones are more bold than the lighter colored ones. I got my morning fingernail and jewelry pecking. ;)
I call mine chickie chickie when I talk to them. I start saying it from several feet away so I don't scare them half to death! They are on the far side of the garage. I call them ladies or girls too and my daughters ask what if they are boys. LOL
I do the same thing. even when I had roos I would talk about them as " the girls." Maybe it makes up for all that time I call humans of mixed company " guys" LOL
Hi Eu, BackyardHens, It would be funny blue faces and back
and white feathers.. LOLOLO....
I'm still laughing...
How are the girls doing????
Tracey
I've been hand feeding my chickens since I got them and they were probably a month or two old when I got them. They will come right up and eat out of my hand. One of my birds even flew up and landed right on the platter I bring the food in. LOL! Shredded lettuce went flying! You'd think those birds were starving, but there's always plenty of lay mash in their feeder all the time. Even my roos are really friendly. I can't imagine they'd ever get mean cuz they know I bring the treats. I bring them shredded lettuce twice a day and every now and then I throw them a few handfuls of scratch. They are truly spoiled little babies!
This message was edited May 7, 2007 1:40 PM