Chickens are lively and friendly animals that create both more activity and more biodiversity in the garden. Keeping and caring for chickens brings children closer to nature. By caring for the chickens themselves, they learn how to deal with responsibility and they gain respect for nature and animals. Chickens can easily be tamed. We would love to give you some tips!
- It is best to start early. Chicks are a lot easier and quicker to tame than an adult chicken. It is important to let them get used to the carers early on, so to the children, too.
- Chickens need regularity, so you best give them feed and water at regular intervals.
- You can win their trust by sitting with them and giving them a nice snack (e.g. Snack garden mix or Snack sea mix).
- Once the chickens are used to you, you can pet them carefully. If they let you, you can gradually pick them up and even put them on your lap. The animals will quickly get used to it, but they have to keep feeling that they can trust you.
- As it is very hard to regain the trust of a chicken, it is best to keep your kids moving slowly and calmly around chickens. Brusque movements make animals scared quickly.
- The voice, too, plays an important role. Always make sure you talk to them in the same manner, so they always recognise your voice and quickly feel comfortable.
Not all chicken breeds are equally as easy to tame. Many children like chickens and occasionally dare to get into mischief with them. The ideal chickens for kids are small, calm, reliable, don’t run too quickly and are relatively easy to make tame. Belgian bantams like the Barbu d’Uccle and the Barbu d’Anvers definitely meet these criteria. Other breeds, like Japanese bantams, Wyandotte chickens and silkies are also suitable.
Did you know that… laying hens lay the most eggs when they are between 20 weeks and 2 years old? When a chicken is 2 years old, she starts laying less regularly.