Chickens wont eat from my hand....

[captainmommy3]

I have raised 3 RIR and i did everything with them...i would sit and talk with them just hang out with them hold them until they went to sleep and freaked out about every little detail of them developing...Well now i have (4month old youngin's) 1 black australorp 1 golden comet and 1 EEmix and my 3 grown RIR's I did everything the same pretty much with my 4 month old ones except the freaking out part i was a lot more calm....however i didn't feed them by hand like i did the older ones and now they will not take anything from me when i try to give it to them.....can i change this now even those they are not bitty babies anymore? or is it all said and done and i can never give them treats by hand?

 

[lbrtyldy]

I never feed my chickens from my hand. The pecking freaks me out too much. I'm a drop and run kind of girl!

 

[kacklinkelly]

Depending on what I offer seems to determine if they are willing to eat from my hand. Before I throw the treat out, I will hold it in my hand and brace myself for the pecking in my palm. The larger they get, the harder they peck. I would love to figure out how to teach them to eat gently like I did our dog. Ours love uncooked oatmeal and go crazy for it. One of ours has always eaten out of my hand and I didn't handle them much as tiny chicks. The other two were slower to join in. One still waits for the others to move in first. You may just have to find the right treat and be patient.

Interestingly enough, ours could care less for the mealworms I have read that other chickens go crazy for. I enjoy finding out what makes them content :>

 

[hotrodflash]

Try tossing them a few raisins, closer to you each time and then they will come closer and closer and then they should take them from your hand, Even my most skittish pullets will come take raisins from my fingers,

 

[waititout]

My girls were the same way. As soon as they started laying eggs though, they seemed to calm down a lot. Give it some time, I'm sure they will come around.