Are Chickens Friendly? Depends On Many Factors

Backyard chickens can make wonderful additions to any household. There are a wide variety of different breeds, and they are very popular both as pets and providing food for your family. People raise them for a number of reasons, and you will find that the reasons are as varied as their personalities.

One of the things that most people will wonder is if the chickens they have are friendly. Having an aggressive chicken is not only dangerous, but can cause you to spend money on unneeded repairs to structures and medical bills. If you have children, a friendly chicken is very important.

Are Chickens Friendly?

Chickens are generally friendly provided there are no threats to them. Depending on the breeds, some breeds are friendly, while others are aggressive. Chickens often are extremely aggressive when creating a pecking order.

When it comes to the pecking order, chickens, particularly roosters, may be very violent. The violent behavior isn’t “intentional,” but rather the natural instinct of the chickens.

The aggressiveness of chickens is also influenced by their breed. Some breeds of chicken are friendlier than others. If you want to raise chickens, it’s a good idea to know the breeds beforehand.

Are Chickens Friendly To Humans?

When it comes to their owners, chickens are friendly once they get to know you. After all, you are the one that’s providing food for them.

Chickens can identify different faces and associate them with a positive or negative experience.

For that reason, if you treat them well, they will remember your face and even your voice, and begin to develop feelings for you. Once they’ve been used to human contact, they may even like being handled by people.

Why Are Chickens So Aggressive?

Chickens are social creatures, therefore social order within the flock is important. Some hens will exert dominance over other chickens within the flock. In order to get to the top of the pecking order, fighting is usually what will happen. When other hens attempt to defend themselves, they may turn to violence.

Besides the above, there are other reasons why chickens are aggressive. Below are some of them:

Cramped space: Too many chickens in a flock without enough space for all of them to move around. When this happens, they may become aggressive toward each other.

Changes in the environment: Rapid changes in the environment create stress for the chickens, which leads to aggression.

Overheating: When the temperature becomes too hot, chickens will get aggressive at each other. They may fight among each other in the flock.

Lighting: If the chickens are exposed to too much light throughout the day, they may become extremely violent to one another.

Lack Of Nutrition: Nutritional imbalances such as low fiber, high-calorie meals, or diets lacking in protein and amino acids may cause hens to become violent.

Cannibalism: Fighting will usually result in injury to one or more chickens. If that happens, the chickens will be attracted to the blood from the injury. This will cause them to become even more aggressive, which will eventually lead to more death within the flock.

Unfamiliarity: If a new chicken is introduced into the flock, the chickens in the existing flock will be hostile toward the new one.

Breed Of Chicken That Is Friendly

To avoid aggressive behavior, raise friendly chicken breeds. Getting chickens from friendly breeds is one method to avoid hostile chickens.

Below are some of the friendly chicken breeds:

Silkies

Silkies are one of the friendliest chicken breeds.

Silkies are one of the finest chicken species to keep as pets because of their size and temper. Their feathers are smooth and fluffy, which is similar to silk.

They’re also extremely attractive creatures with their fluffy feathers, so they’re appealing to kids and adults alike.

Silkies have beards that hide their faces, brilliant and blue earlobes, and 5-toed feet, among other features. They have a friendly temper and like to be around humans.

Speckled Sussex

The Speckled Sussex chicken is a big, sociable breed with a single comb and featherless feet. Hens may weigh up to 6 pounds, while roosters can weigh upward to 8 pounds.

They are curious animals that like to discover new things. For that reason, it’s not a pet that you will want to keep in the house. Also, their large size makes them unfit as well.

Buff Orpington

They’re a fantastic chicken breed in general. Besides making a great pet, Buff Orpington can be raised for meat and producing eggs.

Buff Orpingtons are also great for kids who like playing with them. They are tolerant, friendly, and don’t mind being picked up. They also like being pampered.

Red Rhode Island

Rhode Island Red is a breed that’s friendly and gentle. They are friendly enough that you can allow your kids to play with them without fear of getting injured.

Rhode Island Red chickens also get along well with the other chickens within the flock.

This breed is also known to lay eggs all year long. This makes them great for raising if you enjoy fresh eggs throughout the year.

Australorp

Australorps are similar to the western Orpington breed in appearance. This breed is popular for being very productive at laying eggs.

They’re usually friendly, calm, and peaceful, which makes them ideal to be around kids.

Easter Eggers

Easter Eggers are quite an unusual breed. It’s not a chicken breed, but rather a cross between Ameraucana and Araucana chickens. They are unique chickens since their eggs are in odd colors like blue, green, aqua, olive, or pink.

They are calm and enjoy being around humans.

Faverolles

The Faverolles is one of the friendliest breeds of chicken. This breed cannot be part of another breed of chicken as they will get picked on.

Instead, you should keep them alone or within their own breed. They will make an excellent pet to keep around children, as they won’t likely peck or attack.

Conclusion

How friendly the chickens are will depend mostly on the breed. For the most part, chickens are friendly creatures.

However, they can become aggressive sometimes. This will usually depend on what’s causing them to become agitated. It could be things like the hot weather, no room to move around, or they are hungry.