Any advice on how to make chicks friendly

I have 10 2 week old bantam chicks and right now they are very skiddish. It's almost impossible to pick them up. They scatter and chirp loudly and I feel like I'm traumatizing them if I persist, so I always give up. (my DH manages to always catch one, but then he has huge mitts for hands) I've been hand feeding them yogurt on my fingers, but that just makes them peck at me and I feel like I'm starting something bad. Their pecks have gotten a little more aggressive in just 2 weeks. I can't imagine bigger chickens with bigger beaks But I have read that I'm supposed to do this and handle them a lot when they're young to make them friendly...???

Anyone have any ideas that worked for them? I want to do the right thing from the start.

I was told that they won't come around until they pass teenage-hood? Is that true???

I'm pretty new to backyard chickens myself but I brought home some small meal worms one day from the pet store. Instant love.

Well, "love". At least when I go to visit the older chickens, they come bursting out to see me. They're not exactly begging to be picked up or anything, but they seem pretty comfortable in my presence.

Mine went through stages of shyness. 2 weeks what about the time they acted skiddish of me, and that lasted until about 5 weeks when I rehomed the cockerel I had. They went through another shy spurt around 11 weeks.

Treats (with grit) won them over every time. A way to a chicks heart is through occasional treats hand fed. Scrambled/hard boiled eggs work well, and some others listed here on BYC. I think they will come back around and get desensitized to the "big hand" that is now "big FOOD hand!" lol.

Good luck! My youngest group just turned 20 weeks so no chicks here, but I can live vicariously through you right? LOL

Does it make a difference if they're hand or hen raised? I was actually going to ask the same question. I have 3 chicks w/a hen. They're a week old now, and I try to pick them up every day, but it's not easy. They run as soon as I try

My chicks are 5 weeks old yesterday. From day one I have let them know who is boss by picking them up even if they voiced discontent. The louder they cried the longer I held and loved on them. Eventually they would settle down and even go to sleep in my lap. Now that they are 5 weeks when I go into the coop (which is daily, sometimes two or three times) and sit on my little 1ft stool, they almost all jump up on my lap and settle in. They are really getting big so it's getting to where they have to take turns. I have one dark brahma that can take it or leave it so I make it a point to pick her up and hold her until she settles. She was getting to where she was pecking at me when I reached for her. I just let her know that I wasn't going to give in and tolerate that behavior and now she just reluctantly stands and lets me pick her up. I always pick them up by reaching in from the front and putting their breast in my hand with my fingers towards the back. They seem to like it that way. That way they can see what's coming and aren't startled. I don't have any special breeds, just your typical backyard chickens that seem to love me dearly. BTW, I don't ever hand feed them because I want them to only see my hands as something that gives them comfort not food. I'm not interested in getting pecked when I reach out to them. Because of that they peck the treat bowl, not me. Hope this helps!

My observation: Just like kids, they go through stages. And treats help. And some will just be friendlier than others. And it helps to move slowly around them. And some just are less friendly than others. I have one EE that will come to get treats but takes off if I try to pet her. The others are much more tolerant of touch and maybe even like it...but not as much as they like treats

my chicks are really friendly , i give the food from my hand sometimes and they llike that and also i pic them up and make them rest on my lap dont scare them or dont pick them p tooo much