Teach them not to bite?

[DoodleTurkey]

Hey everyone!

My little turkey babies have picked up a nasty habit of trying to bite fingers.... anyone have any idea how to nip that in that in the bud?

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Do you hand feed treats? That is one thing I NEVER do, for that very reason.

 

[DoodleTurkey]

I fed one of them out of my hand when she was a week or two old because she didn't seem to be thriving very well on her own, but it's been nearly a month since that happened. This finger-biting seems to have just come out of the blue this week, and it wasn't the littlest one who started it =/

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I would keep my fingers away, turkeys are prone to exploratory pecking, especially in their adolescence, be careful especially with bending over, they can be attracted to eyes too. My get excited over colorful shoes, zippers, just block them and watch them. I sometimes walk with my hands held up, goofy turkeys.

 

[austria89]

I fed mine always out of my hand. They are very gentle.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

That's because they're babies. The general rule is don't teach habits to babies that you don't want them to have as adults like puppies jumping on people. My first turkeys were raised by someone who would hand feed treats. They were always running up to me begging and nipping at my fingers and it annoyed the heck out of me. With my current poults, I never hand feed. They run to me to be held, which is the type of affection I prefer.

 

[austria89]

Also my fully grown turkeys eat out of my hand, but the never bite or nip my fingers.