What are all the reasons 2-week old chicks peck at you?

[Barbeque]

Barbecue, my Barred Rock chick, is cuddled under my neck and he ALWAYS pecks me! I have yet to understand why. It tickles wayyyy too much to bare! xD It's like, he shakes his head while pecking. I'll try to put him on my lap, but he insists on going under my neck. But it tickles too much when he pecks me! Why does he do it, will he ever stop?

 

[TurkeyMountainChickens]

The crawling up under your neck is a natural instinct. Chicks like to bury themselves in my hair - I think it must be similar to burrowing in mom's feathers.

As for the pecking, here are some reasons I've thought of with my chicks:

1. You MIGHT be tasty - how are they to know?
2. Just because you're bigger doesn't mean they can't get be on top of you in the pecking order!
3. Colorful nail polish is SURE to be tasty.
4. Because they can.
5. Do chickens need a reason?

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Because they have no fingers to figure out the world, so they "taste and peck" things

 

[Kim_1970]

One reason could be that they are angry that they dont have thumbs....

 

[Layira]

Quote:

Haha, love it! My chicks couldn't figure out that my nail polish wasn't a treat, so they decided they would all have to see for themselves!

I know that my chicks will peck (they"re about 5 weeks) at my fingers when I first open the door to their brooder because they think I'm bringing them a treat and I hand feed them a lot. So I just show them my hands so they know I don't have anything for them and they'll leave me alone to do whatever I have to.

Your chick may just be trying to be affectionate!

 

[babypeeps]

 

[Mervin]

I think it's a lot like a dog sniffing IMHO. It's how the "figure out" the world around them.

"Ah, this is new."
"I think I'll give it peck."
"It doesn't taste like food."
"I guess I'll move on then."

or

"Hey, here comes the guy who give me treats."
"What's this shiny gold thing on his finger?"
"I'll go ahead and give it a whack."