My chickens who clearly do not know they are chickens…

[Lkw]

So, maybe I baby my chickies a bit more than most, or maybe these chickies are just neurotic.

It is true that most people spend ages trying to get their flock to be friendly. However, with my flock i try to make them a bit less so.

We live on quite a bit of acreage and I have like 60 chickens, plus 2 turkeys and 6 guineas. They ALL free range and they ALL want to be either in your lap being pet (some will even rub themselves on you like a dog… nope- not kidding), sitting on you somewhere else like your shoulder or head, or as close as they can be without being on you.

Yes, I am being serious. It isn’t just me they are this friendly with. It is everyone! The mail lady always has 3 or 4 in her seat when she gets out of her car. The grocery delivery people have them try to stow away in their trunk! Fancy, our friendliest rooster takes every opportunity to get into the house and sit with you on the couch. He will also sit down directly in front of you while you are walking so you either trip on him or pick him up and carry him. Matilda, our favorite chicken, even stole mashed potatoes from the Amazon delivery drivers cup holder!

When we go inside, they all sit on the porch staring at the door till you come back outside. If you are working on the front, they are foraging in the front. If you are in the back, they are in the back. Some of them will lay on the tools you are not using (my guess is to keep them warmed up for you-lol). Even the roosters (which we have entirely too many of, but they all still get along, so we go with it) are friendly. They are also extremely friendly with the cats, dogs, and goats. They will sometimes be found snuggled up with them in the shade. Honestly I am not sure what happened… lol

People have been told about our extremely friendly flock and sometimes will even drive all the way to our house to let their kids see them… we even had a meat poultry farmer bring his girls to see them bc their birds are not social.

My only complaint in this is that I wish they would please stop pooping on my porch chair and porch! Lol

 

[redinator]

So, maybe I baby my chickies a bit more than most, or maybe these chickies are just neurotic.

It is true that most people spend ages trying to get their flock to be friendly. However, with my flock i try to make them a bit less so.

We live on quite a bit of acreage and I have like 60 chickens, plus 2 turkeys and 6 guineas. They ALL free range and they ALL want to be either in your lap being pet (some will even rub themselves on you like a dog… nope- not kidding), sitting on you somewhere else like your shoulder or head, or as close as they can be without being on you.

Yes, I am being serious. It isn’t just me they are this friendly with. It is everyone! The mail lady always has 3 or 4 in her seat when she gets out of her car. The grocery delivery people have them try to stow away in their trunk! Fancy, our friendliest rooster takes every opportunity to get into the house and sit with you on the couch. He will also sit down directly in front of you while you are walking so you either trip on him or pick him up and carry him. Matilda, our favorite chicken, even stole mashed potatoes from the Amazon delivery drivers cup holder!

When we go inside, they all sit on the porch staring at the door till you come back outside. If you are working on the front, they are foraging in the front. If you are in the back, they are in the back. Some of them will lay on the tools you are not using (my guess is to keep them warmed up for you-lol). Even the roosters (which we have entirely too many of, but they all still get along, so we go with it) are friendly. They are also extremely friendly with the cats, dogs, and goats. They will sometimes be found snuggled up with them in the shade. Honestly I am not sure what happened… lol

People have been told about our extremely friendly flock and sometimes will even drive all the way to our house to let their kids see them… we even had a meat poultry farmer bring his girls to see them bc their birds are not social.

My only complaint in this is that I wish they would please stop pooping on my porch chair and porch! Lol

I only have one pullet that goes out of her way to figure out where I am at all times. I can't imagine a whole flock being that outgoing.

I know exactly why she is this way though. She was the first to hatch from my first clutch of hatching eggs. Since she was alone for an hour before any others hatched I sat and talked to her and held her to keep her company until the others started hatching. She is very people oriented and tells me everyday "This scratching in the dirt for bugs is for the birds, I want to be a house chicken" she may get her wish.

I just got a batch of assorted bantams that I may keep in the house in a larger aviary. After some research (after buying them, of course) I realized I may not be able to free range them since we have some small hawks/raptors in the area that could easily snatch them. Sweety, my outgoing chick, is half the size of her standard hatchmates and she might do better with the bantam flock in the house.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

I only have one pullet that goes out of her way to figure out where I am at all times. I can't imagine a whole flock being that outgoing.

I know exactly why she is this way though. She was the first to hatch from my first clutch of hatching eggs. Since she was alone for an hour before any others hatched I sat and talked to her and held her to keep her company until the others started hatching. She is very people oriented and tells me everyday "This scratching in the dirt for bugs is for the birds, I want to be a house chicken" she may get her wish.

I just got a batch of assorted bantams that I may keep in the house in a larger aviary. After some research (after buying them, of course) I realized I may not be able to free range them since we have some small hawks/raptors in the area that could easily snatch them. Sweety, my outgoing chick, is half the size of her standard hatchmates and she might do better with the bantam flock in the house.

She’s so cute!

 

[redinator]

She’s so cute!

I want to breed her, but my cockerels don't seem interested in her. It could be her feisty attitude, or her size so I decided to get bantams to put her with and see how things go. She is definitely mama's favorite and they all know it, lol.

 

[Lkw]

I only have one pullet that goes out of her way to figure out where I am at all times. I can't imagine a whole flock being that outgoing.

I know exactly why she is this way though. She was the first to hatch from my first clutch of hatching eggs. Since she was alone for an hour before any others hatched I sat and talked to her and held her to keep her company until the others started hatching. She is very people oriented and tells me everyday "This scratching in the dirt for bugs is for the birds, I want to be a house chicken" she may get her wish.

I just got a batch of assorted bantams that I may keep in the house in a larger aviary. After some research (after buying them, of course) I realized I may not be able to free range them since we have some small hawks/raptors in the area that could easily snatch them. Sweety, my outgoing chick, is half the size of her standard hatchmates and she might do better with the bantam flock in the house.

She is adorable! Yes! They follow everywhere! If someone comes to the house, they all run over the second they hear the door open to “help” greet the person. Haha you should see the looks we get when someone is brave enough to sit on the patio and they end up with a lap full of chickens.

we tend to hold them a lot when they are chicks as well. I have kids and they love the chicks… maybe this is what did it.