Help! How to deal with little kids holding chicks!

[justamomma]

Have you considered teaching her to place her hand down with feed? My chicks, little piglets I should say, LOVE it and I enjoy it as well, even though the pecks are starting to get uncomfortable. It's a way to interact with them without picking them up. It is really hazardous to have unsupervised interactions but I know you can't make a lid right away and depending on her age and personality she might sneak play sessions even with telling her not to. I would personally rather have her sneak in a try to coax them to eat from her hand then what she's doing now.

Good idea, they are friendly and just getting out of the skittish stage into the very curious stage. She was really trying to get one to perch on her finger which i know they will have none of that business lol so i think them eating from her hand is right up her alley. I don't think she would sneak down there because we have plain view of the stairs from the kitchen and living room but she may try to tell me that she needs to go downstairs for something else that is a "very important-must do right away" fib, but the chicks are the only thing down there so i would know what her plan was lol

 

[justamomma]

You say she is really well behaved.  So you should be able to tell her "NO" and expect her to obey. They are your chicks and if you have told her how to hold them and she has not listened, then the consequence has to be that she can't go down there unsupervised.  Your mom should back you up 100%...and the latch on the brooder isn't a bad idea either.

A well behaved 5 year old will obey but that doesn't mean she is not going to be sad and not continue to ask every time she thinks about them. Children are very hard to reason with :/ I love her and have been looking forward to her visit for many months. Rather than just telling her no it's easier to have other options and compromise you know? I think a cover is a must and hopefully she enjoys trying to feed them food out of her hand. When i recently talked to my mom about it she suggested not letting her go down alone which a must after today. So I'm glad she understands that the chicks are important to me. Hopefully everything goes well tomorrow, thank you for the reply