Happy Thursday friends! Today I want to share my top tips to raising friendly chickens. This is a question I get all the time and a topic that I find very important. Since I have a toddler, raising friendly chickens was a must for me.
Purchase Friendly Breeds
You want to set yourself up for success by purchasing breeds that are known for being docile and friendly. I personally only want to own nice chickens so this was a MUST when deciding what breeds to purchase. Most hatcheries will provide a detailed breed description that you can see if they are known for being friendly. When I was researching friendly breeds here were the TOP breeds for children- Silkies, Opingtons, Cochins, Wyandottes, Sapphire Gems, Golden Comets, Barred Plymouth Rock, Australorp, Rhode Island Reds, Easter Eggers and Speckled Sussex. I’m sure there are more friendly breeds but these were all highly recommended by fellow chicken owners with experience.
Start Young
I start handling my chicks at 2 weeks. I hold them, offer them treats and put them on my lap constantly at this point. Every week I handle them a little more often
Treats
This is the key to any chicken’s heart! I mean, can you blame them? If someone kept giving me delicious treats I’d definitely be their best friend! You can read all about what treats I give my girls and at what ages by clicking here. If you constantly give them treats they will start associating you with them.
Talk to Them Often
Whenever you go near your chickens, let them know you are coming. I always say “good morning ladies” when I approach the coop in the mornings to let them know I’m there. They get SO excited when they hear my voice because they know either treats, their food or free ranging is coming.
Handle Often
Even after they pass the cute chick stage, keep handling them. Mine aren’t huge fans of being picked up but they will let me and never try to bite me. I find this is important because if you have an emergency they will be easy to handle. For example, after the hawk attach I immediately grabbed Blanche because I was not sure what had killed my chickens. If Blanche was not friendly and trained to let me hold her, I would have been chasing after her in a panic! Try to pet them when you can, randomly pick them up for a few minutes and sit close to them often.
I hope you find this post beneficial! If you have any specific questions leave them in the comments below!
Xo,
i just bought six baby chicks and did so much research on breeds and bought six different kinds and I bought them based on “niceness” and you listed all of them except for one so makes me feel good to know mine will hopefully be kind 🙂
I am so happy to hear that Shanna!! I hope to live up to their reputation! 🙂
I’m trying to find out how you built your chicken coop. Did you explaine how you built it?
Ty
I am about to build a chicken coop and buy Easter Eggers. They are so pretty and look like hawks to me. Can anyone tell me a good source to buy from so they will sex them?
Thank you
Linda