You don’t need to be so sneaky that the chicken doesn’t hear you, in fact you want it to know you are coming, but you should make only small amounts of noise. If you are helping a child to pet a chicken, remind them to be quiet before you start approaching the chicken.
This does not happen in all circumstances but when it does it makes petting a chicken easier.
Usually your steps toward the chicken will create enough noise to let the chicken know you are approaching.
Once you make physical contact with the chicken, it may run away from you right away.
If the chicken isn’t yours, ask the owner before entering the chicken’s space and attempting to pet it.
It’s helpful if the chicken food you use isn’t the animal’s normal feed. The chicken will be more willing to come up to you if you use more interesting treats, such as mealworms or table scraps. [4] X Research source The amount of mealworms you give a chicken should be limited, as they aren’t the healthiest of treats. However they are beneficial in training your flock.
Extend your as far away from your body as possible so that the chicken doesn’t have to get too close to you.
It may be that you are feeding it with one hand and petting it with the other. You must make sure the chicken sees your hand first so you don’t catch it by surprise and cause it to run off. Tell children to be gentle with the chicken. Show them how to stroke the chicken. Make sure they don’t hit or pull the bird.
Don’t hold on to the bird too tight. You want to have a good enough hold that the chicken can’t get away from you but not so tight that you hurt it at all. If a small child wants to pet the chicken, it’s usually easiest to do if an adult holds the chicken while the child pets it.
Keep your grip on it, as dropping it unexpectedly could injure the chicken.
The chicken may try to peck at your hand if it doesn’t want to be held or petted. It may take multiple attempts to get a chicken comfortable enough with being held to accept it and enjoy the petting session.
