Taming wild birds

[Travis Munday]

Maybe someone with some experience out there can help me. About a week ago I got some peafowl, looks to be one cock and one hen. They are maybe two weeks old, but already they are quite wild and timid around humans. If you try to pick them up they will run/fly away, and when you do finally nab one, you can tell they are scared. I would like for them to be on the tame side when fully grown, so at least I could get near them and pick them up if need be. Any tips to accomplish this?



Also, I've got four chicken, black cochins, and recently, the rooster has turned a bit mean. He'd almost always 'charge' you when you enetered the pen, but now he's gotten in the bad habit of pecking and biting, completly unprovoked, even if all you're doing is standing there feeding them. The hens won't even come close to you. These guys are 4-5 months old, is it too late to do anything about them? I'd be happy wild just getting that dang rooster to stop biting me whenever I feed them...

 

[Teddy GreeneII]

I dont know Tiger, sounds like an alpha male thing. my uncles farm back in N. Carolina has about the meanest damn chicken/rooster wild animal things ive ever seen but, my cousin does have a "pet" hen. She babied the thing like it was human from the get go and she follows her around like a puppy :huh:, its actually funny and odd as hell to watch. I imagine its just an attention thing. Hey, thanks again for your help Tiger. Appreciate it.

 

[Jeff C]

I know how to set it straight...



























Dinner.

 

[Teddy GreeneII]

Nice..........

 

[Travis Munday]

Nah, the chickens are too small to make a meal of...although I'd like to get some giant chickens, that'd really freak the neighbors.

 

[Lauren Y]

farmer Travis...are these the replacements for the penguins?

 

[Richard L]

Tiger,

Since you have only had them a week, it maybe just that you are a strangerto them. I think after you feed them daily and they get to know you and trust you they will be less likely to run away from you. I would not recommend chasing them since that is causing them more trauma.



Usually you feed them daily and keep moving the food closer to you each day until they will take the food out of your hand. Then you slowly try to pet them and eventually they will see that you do not intent to harm them and they will let you touch them.



When I was a young boy, my mother trained a squirel to climb a flight of stairs and come into our house and take nuts out of her hand. She did that all in one day by first throwing nuts to the squirel and then placing on nut on each step and eventually into the house leading to the chair she sat in and he would take a nut out of her hand.



It just takes time and patience and a lot of repetition.



...Rich