# Do chickens get friendlier as they get older?



## bluejeanprincess (Mar 25, 2013)

I have like 100 chickens they have a lot of room to live and are also free range in the evenings. And I raised them from day old chicks as they were handled lots by me. They are about 7-8 months old and i still find the to be skiddish. They don't come up to me and scream bloody murder if I do happen to catch one but they almost always run. I was at a petting zoo the other week and I was thinking how nice it would be if mine were as friendly as that! I've heard they become better as they become older because the ones there were old, also. So I was just wondering if it was true because I don't think it has anything to do with breed(I have several friendly breeds) but might have something to do with age?

Thank you for your responses in advance!!
Amelia


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Breed plays a big part in whether or not they get the warm fuzzies about us. I have a five year old white leghorn, every time she's picked up its the first time EVER!!! She will not come running when the other breeds do. The Hamburgs hang back a bit but not as bad as she is. The Silkies form a solid mass at my feet. And so do the d'Uccles.


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## OliviaE (Feb 16, 2013)

Also if u raised them from chicks and have handled them as chicks because I got mine (I only got 6 though) and I handled them a lot so now they love being held and played with. But with 100 chickens I guess not all of them will be nice to you...try to pick a few favorites and handle them and give all of your chickens treats ( I give mine store bought chicken treat or tomatoes cut in half so they can get the juicy part) hope they will warm up to you


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## avis67 (Oct 27, 2013)

Breed doesn't necessarily determine the temperament of a chicken. I have seen and heard of many chicken breeds that are said to be docile, friendly, and love being held, but it truly depends in the chicken's owner and if they interact and play with them, sometimes though it's just the chicken that's the problem. 

Even though most people say that Leghorns are unfriendly and don't like to be held my White Leghorns Lime and Lemon are one of the sweetest girls in the flock! Lime always comes running towards me when I am outside and she doesn't mind being picked up. If you hold her and gently pet her from head to tail she will eventually lay down and enjoy the massage. I find that tame chickens also enjoy neck rubs.


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## avis67 (Oct 27, 2013)

I'm not sure of age affects the temperament if a chicken but I have had a few hens that have turned from most tame to meanest or wildest and sometimes the opposite.


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## Apyl (Jun 20, 2012)

Breed does play a role. I do agree not all birds in a breed will follow the norm but in general most of the breed members will act quite the same. In my opinion it doesn't matter if you hold them alot as chicks or not its all about the individual bird. We have always held all our flock as chicks, I have some that refuse to come near us and some that come running and hang out with us. In my opinion with 100 chickens you will not get docile friendly birds unless you separate a couple and spend a lot of time with them. The petting farms have only a couple to a few birds that are around people all the time, handled by many different people, they are basically trained to accept all the touching.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

What Apyl said. Thing is, some of us have had chickens for a long time, a really long time. So the experience with various breeds is there. Where those that have only had them a year or two think that they're experience is the basis in fact. 

That leghorn I mentioned for the first time in her five years of living with me actually ate out of my hand the other day. It never mattered how badly she wanted what I was offering, she would stand back and not come near. The very next day she wouldn't come any where near my hand for the treats. I accept that and don't force her to be anything but what she is.


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## avis67 (Oct 27, 2013)

Apyl said:


> Breed does play a role. I do agree not all birds in a breed will follow the norm but in general most of the breed members will act quite the same. In my opinion it doesn't matter if you hold them alot as chicks or not its all about the individual bird. We have always held all our flock as chicks, I have some that refuse to come near us and some that come running and hang out with us. In my opinion with 100 chickens you will not get docile friendly birds unless you separate a couple and spend a lot of time with them. The petting farms have only a couple to a few birds that are around people all the time, handled by many different people, they are basically trained to accept all the touching.


I agree breed does okay a role, some that I have handled the most as chicks have turned mean or scared if humans, but they are not as frightened as a chicken that has not or mostly not had any experience with humans. And of course with 100 chicks not all if them will all be docile and friendly, I was mainly talking about small scale flocks (which most backyard chicken owners have). But lately I have been hearing about a lot of cases where their hen which was supposed to be friendly ended up as mean. The temperament of a chicken can also depend on the owner.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Here again, I can argue the point is not about size but about temperament. The largest part of my flocks has been Silkies, as many as 85 at one time. Plus my others. My Silkies, even though they were not handled a lot, would become a hazard because they would be under my feet. 

My d'Uccles, the females in particular, were almost as bad as the Silkies without the holding cuddling that keeps getting mentioned.

My Hamburgs, while tamed down more than I expected were always just out of reach. Although they would take treats from my hands. 

My Dutch, were more standoffish than the Hamburgs.

My Red Star was a lap chicken even though she was rarely handled. 

The Leghorn I've discussed.


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## ismadd (Jul 26, 2021)

bluejeanprincess said:


> I have like 100 chickens they have a lot of room to live and are also free range in the evenings. And I raised them from day old chicks as they were handled lots by me. They are about 7-8 months old and i still find the to be skiddish. They don't come up to me and scream bloody murder if I do happen to catch one but they almost always run. I was at a petting zoo the other week and I was thinking how nice it would be if mine were as friendly as that! I've heard they become better as they become older because the ones there were old, also. So I was just wondering if it was true because I don't think it has anything to do with breed(I have several friendly breeds) but might have something to do with age?
> 
> Thank you for your responses in advance!!
> Amelia


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## ismadd (Jul 26, 2021)

I have the same problem 
That my chickens are so hard to catch they are still petrified of me and I’ve been there since the second they were hatching
I have treats but they don’t like me at all
I think they are getting a lot better as they get older
Otherwise they scream bloody murder anytime I try to pick them up


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

What breed are your chickens? That comes into play a lot. 

They do get a bit better as they get older. Peeps hatch with the automatic everything is a predator attitude. 

Don't chase. Take a chair, sit down with some treats. Hand them out to whoever approaches a little at a time. After a while they'll understand you're a good friend.


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## HSJ07 (Aug 25, 2020)

robin416 said:


> What breed are your chickens? That comes into play a lot.
> 
> They do get a bit better as they get older. Peeps hatch with the automatic everything is a predator attitude.
> 
> Don't chase. Take a chair, sit down with some treats. Hand them out to whoever approaches a little at a time. After a while they'll understand you're a good friend.


I raised 6 hens from babies and they are all very friendly. I have different breeds. It took my Speckled Sussex about 9 months to become friendly even though she was raised with the others. She was never mean but just last month started sitting in my lap and coming to be petted. I now have four 3 week old Easter Egger chicks raised my by a sweet Welsummer hen. They want nothing to do with me even though their mother sits with me and I pet her. She has tried to get them to eat from my hand but they don't want to. They won't let me touch them. I don't want to catch and hold them by force as that may have negative repercussions. I hope with treats and being nice to them they will get friendlier. On the other hand I have a Black Australorp who was very friendly and now does not want to be touched the older she gets, Maybe yours will get friendlier as they get older.


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## ChickenMom24 (Feb 14, 2021)

So far I have found out that the way to most chickens hearts is through treats! Hand raised are much friendlier then hen raised, but even skiddish chickens seem to come around if they think I might have a raisin in my pocket.

if they are shy, try tossing treats from a distance, and then closer to you each time until they have to get them out of your hand. If they run away, back away and leave a little trail of treats behind. It is like kids to an ice cream truck after a while. 😂


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## lovely_chooks (Mar 19, 2021)

So much reading to do I’m too lazy sorry but I’m pretty sure when they are older like hens they don’t run as much as when they are chicks


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## HSJ07 (Aug 25, 2020)

lovely_chooks said:


> So much reading to do I’m too lazy sorry but I’m pretty sure when they are older like hens they don’t ru
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It took this girl 11 months to become a lap girl.


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## lovely_chooks (Mar 19, 2021)

HSJ07 said:


> It took this girl 11 months to become a lap girl.


Oh yeah I saw that picture already my hen is also a lap chicken lol


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## HSJ07 (Aug 25, 2020)

lovely_chooks said:


> Oh yeah I saw that picture already my hen is also a lap chicken lol


This is a new picture


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