Can spoiling your chickens create a bad habit for them?

[HollyTree]

I love to catch grasshoppers for my 12-14 week old chicks (RIR).
They get so excited and jump up & down at my feet for it!
I take them so many treats (other than grasshoppers) too.
Some of them seem to be getting quite "pushy" & pecky for treats.
I put my hand down to clean, pick up trays, ect. they are all over me. They don't hurt, but what about when they get grown? Can they bite too hard and hurt me?


I know there are a lot of you out there who spoil your chickens too! So question: Am I teaching them a bad habbit?

 

[mamaKate]

I stopped hand feeding my roo for that reason. My pullet is still sweet and good mannered at 20 weeks. I think it depends on the chickens. If yours are that insistant, you might want to ease up a bit on the treats. You could also try offering the treats in a dish or cup.

 

[MagsC]

I always shoo mine off when I am feeding them. Maybe thats wrong but they were starting to get kind of aggressive, pushing in and pecking and such. Now they wait their turn better.
Of course any treats thrown in with them are fair game,lol.

 

[Chickenmaven]

Yes, you are doing a very bad thing...

soon they will take over the T.V. and force you to order them pizza.

Just kiding. They are chickens. They will be just as happy with a handful of scratch tomorrow as they are with today's crickets.

 

[Dar]

I dont know if you can "train" a chicken like you can a dog but when i bring their treet dish out i will not allow them past a certain point until i put the dish down.

I kept stomping my feet until they got to the point where I wanted them then i put the dish down but once that dish touches the ground it was a free for all frenzy .... now when they see the treat dish they wont go past that point till i put it down so i guess you can "train" them to a certain degree

 

[EweSheep]

Use the Pavlov method!

 

[HollyTree]

Thanks everyone, good advice!

Dear EweSheep: regarding the Pavlov Method, I guess I do contribute to their excitement by saying "Peep, peep, peep" aloud before getting to them! I have read about this before; it is very interesting!

 

[onedozenphyllises]

I gave mine lots of treats and it got to the point where they knew the sound of our front door and would literally mob me. They'd follow me all over the yard and not let me get anything done. I've slacked off on the treats, and they don't come running nearly as much.

 

[Chicky Tocks]

When I let my girls out to range, they know exactly which can that the scratch is kept in. They cluck and circle me until I toss a handful onto the ground.

The only spoiling that I've ever done which has backfired on me was with my little cockeral. He was a friendly little lap chicken that would jump up into my arms or run up the ramp to a perch so he could get on the same level as I was....then when I rehomed my extra roos, he turned bad boy on me. Running up the ramp to get on my level was no longer a good thing, and in fact downright dangerous for me! And jumping up into my arms turned into jumping up and trying to bite me. Bye bye little cockeral. I've vowed never to coddle another of the boys...but my girls are still going to be spoiled in every way I can think of to spoil them.

 

[Imp]

Mine have figured out that making noise at first light will have me come running to let them out. No sleep after 6am this time of year. And they now recognise the sound of a car pulling into the gravel driveway, they gather around the backdoor making noise till I come out and give them a treat.

Imp- Who has who trained?