Spoiled hand fed 5 week olds

[kellykungfu]

Hi Everyone,

I have four 5 week old chicks. They seem to be very spoiled. They will eagerly eat food if I dangle it in front of them, but the second I drop it on the floor they ignore it. For example, if I have a red worm and hold it they will try to snatch it then run off with it. When i drop them on the floor, the look at it like if it was an alien.

Also, my chicks don't seem to like any sort of veggies. Is this normal or will they grow out of it or will start appreciating it more when they go outside into the coop?

Thanks in advance.

-kelly

 

[RAWR]

spoild rotton chicks..hmm..idk how to help you with that. i would just stop hand feeding them and start putting their food on a dish and leave the dish on the ground. they can and will learn to eat like a normal chicken.

 

[Mahlzeit]

The veggie's are new to them with time they will learn to enjoy them.

 

[annek]

My chicks love their veggies, especially broccoli! I hide mine in a large flat saucer type plate with crumbles, sand, and dirt all mixed up. Everything I hide in there they eat. It takes them a while to pick through all of it and keeps them busy.

As soon as they see me coming with the dish they start squalking. Pavlov's chickens.

 

[m2wandc]

My girls didn't like veggies at first either, they were meal worm snobs...and then I ran out of meal worms and haven't been able to get more...so they are starting to take a liking to fresh veggies...don't give up on them just yet!

 

[Judy]

They mostly need to be eating their chick starter.

Chickens don't like change or new things. Takes them time to learn what tastes good, and that a new treat is not a threat.

Never have been able to get mine to eat sunflower seeds....

 

[Eggie and Me]

Our girls are just about 7 wks old. They too we terribly spoiled. Oh yeah, and still are, butttttttt they will now eat anything and everything put in front of them. Whenever I go into their yard they follow me around and IF I dare to bend down I have at least fly up on my shoulder. I started cutting corn OFF the cob and dipped in in their feed. I also rolled the cob in their feed and just set it down and watched. It only took a few minutes, it was like anything with THEIR feed on it was ok. We also sprinkled their plain yogurt with their feed. Guess it was easy to trick them.

It took longer for them to get over their fear of the color green.

 

[Alyssandra]

Mine where the same way for awhile...They would only try new food out of my hand (was really fun when I gave them a little bit of cooked oatmeal)...recently they started eating things not out of my hand if they have had them before....this was also after the crickets from the pet store that there was no way I was going to touch so just put them in the brooder for the chicks to catch....

 

[nwgirl]

I have 6 week old chicks that I hand feed. Mine will eat bugs no problem, but I toss in a strawberry and they ignore it until I hold it for them, then they devour it!

Yesterday morning I fed them banana and laid the peel on the ground but they really didn't want much to do with it, so I'd pick it up and scrap more banana off and lay it back down trying to entice them to pick at it themselves. Baby steps.

I started putting my chicks outside on nice days where their first veggie was grass. I dunno, is grass a vegetable?

Then the other day I offered them fresh young lettuce leaves and they went nuts! Of course I had to hold it for them

I assume they will eventually grow out of always having to be hand fed.

 

[elmo]

Quote:
Think of it this way. Chicks raised by a hen learn what to eat by watching the hen and following her lead. To these chicks, you're their momma. You could try tapping on the food dropped on the floor with your finger. With time, they should get the hint.