Taming wild chickens

Dec 15, 2021
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Hi everyone,

I started chickens and the love for them June 2021. My 1st hatch was a clutch of eggs given to me as an early birthday present. Out of it I hatched successfully 3 eggs. Out of those 3 eggs is my favorite chicken, Chick Chick, who just so happens to be a rooster. Now when Chick Chick was a little bitty chick he had pasty butt, and that was the 1st time I learned about the backyard chicken site. Needless to say Chick Chick overcame his pasty butt and the 2 of us built a wonderful relationship. Now I got this clutch of eggs from a woman which lives on a farm next to the one I grew up on. She is the most remarkable woman you'll ever meet. She lives on over 200 acres raises sheeps, cows, horses, and has at least a 100 wild chickens running around at any one time. She has the tamest sheep you'll ever meet. When you go to her place they just come right up to you and let you pet them. She is 76 years old and she can still throw a sheep on the ground and clean its hoofs. Come to find out Chick Chick happened to be this breed called
Bielefeild Kennhunn. I then went on the search for the hens like him and found that they would have to be ordered. The cheapest way would be 75 after shipping for a dozen eggs and one hen is $30. So plan B. My husband said well if you got Chick Chick from Valerie's then couldn't you potentially get hens with the same breed and I thought you're a genius. That's precisely what I did. On Christmas Eve, yesterday , I went to her place at dark. Her daughter helped me by climbing into the rafters and caught 5 hens who came from the flock with the rooster that made Chick Chick. Now these hens are wild and my goal is to get them used to me by simply setting in the pen with them every day and over time them learning to trust me enough to handle them. Now during these episodes Chick Chick will be with us so they can see me petting a chicken and a chicken walking next to me feeling safe. My ultimate goal is to get these beautiful ladies out of the pen and into the field. Cause this is backyard chickens not caged chickens lol.All my other flock are free range organic and these ladies came from freedom and I don't want to deprive them of that for long. Very excited about this venture and about the potential of taming these wild girls and definitely breeding them with Chick Chick. Ultimate goal is getting more chickens like Chick Chick and overtime having more traits than whatever else these girls are mixed with. This will also be my 1st time with selective breeding I am so excited. Anybody have any experience with taming wild chickens please give me everything you know. Anything can help. I used to tame kittens and wild cats when I was young, which Hurt cause you know cats scratch pretty hard, but I was pretty successful as a kid. I would just set out there with them kittens sometimes for hours until they would trust me enough to get a treat out of my hands. I figured if it works for cats it just might work for chickens.
 

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Dec 15, 2021
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Sitting with them just watching to start would probably be best, and easing up to them with treats. Maybe just toss the treats at them before attempting to hand feed them. Take your time!
Thanks , I will definitely wait to give treats. Spent about 40 minutes with them today just sitting in the pen. Went well.
 
Dec 15, 2021
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I am 5 days into the taming these wild ladies. I have two juvenile pullets that settle quickly when I hold them. Two Hens I would say a year and a half or two years old. The one that looks the most like a Bielefelder Kennhuhn hen does well when I hold her . She doesn't squak any more. The other hen is strikingly beautiful. She was the first one I got from my friends farm. The day I went to scope out her chickens I found her laying inside a small cat carrier. I closed it and took her home that morning. She was a gift from God. Her name is destiny. The other ladies names are still in the air. The last hen is a granny. She is the most flighty and doesn't settle at all when I hold her .Out of the 5 hens I think four of them will grow to accept me and there new flock. The older hen I think will move back to the free range farm she came from. I think it's to much to ask of her to tame down this far into her life .I would rather see her home and free where she was born for the last days of her life. My flock is all under 8 months old, aside from the two wild hens that are accepting my 15 min hold secession. None of the wild ladies are pecking me which is nice. Until the next update have a happy new year!
 
Dec 22, 2020
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Ohio
I am 5 days into the taming these wild ladies. I have two juvenile pullets that settle quickly when I hold them. Two Hens I would say a year and a half or two years old. The one that looks the most like a Bielefelder Kennhuhn hen does well when I hold her . She doesn't squak any more. The other hen is strikingly beautiful. She was the first one I got from my friends farm. The day I went to scope out her chickens I found her laying inside a small cat carrier. I closed it and took her home that morning. She was a gift from God. Her name is destiny. The other ladies names are still in the air. The last hen is a granny. She is the most flighty and doesn't settle at all when I hold her .Out of the 5 hens I think four of them will grow to accept me and there new flock. The older hen I think will move back to the free range farm she came from. I think it's to much to ask of her to tame down this far into her life .I would rather see her home and free where she was born for the last days of her life. My flock is all under 8 months old, aside from the two wild hens that are accepting my 15 min hold secession. None of the wild ladies are pecking me which is nice. Until the next update have a happy new year!
Glad to see that they are doing well! How has it gone?
 
Dec 15, 2021
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Glad to see that they are doing well! How has it gone?
They are doing great about three days ago I opened their pen and have been letting them roam free with the rest of my flock. I have an auraucana rooster that has claimed them as his hens and sleeps with them at night. Each night they go back to their roosting bars in the pen that I lock up at night to protect from predators. In the morning I can pet them when they roost and they don't fly away. The two juvenile pullets let me carry them around, a little reluctantly I might add. All and all its good. They have integrated well with the flock and even walk around by me in the pasture. They are good layers too the three older hens all laid one today as a matter of fact. I'll post picks of them tomorrow.
 
Dec 22, 2020
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Ohio
They are doing great about three days ago I opened their pen and have been letting them roam free with the rest of my flock. I have an auraucana rooster that has claimed them as his hens and sleeps with them at night. Each night they go back to their roosting bars in the pen that I lock up at night to protect from predators. In the morning I can pet them when they roost and they don't fly away. The two juvenile pullets let me carry them around, a little reluctantly I might add. All and all its good. They have integrated well with the flock and even walk around by me in the pasture. They are good layers too the three older hens all laid one today as a matter of fact. I'll post picks of them tomorrow.
Yay! Thats really good! Seems like they now see your farm as their home, I'm so happy for you!
 

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