How can you teach a chicken not to bite the hand that feeds her

[Justicedog]

I don't know what it is, maybe I've been lucky before. This is my 3rd group of 5-6 hens I've had since chicks and I've not had this problem before.

I have one hen, the light brown egg laying "Americauna" who bites my hand when I'm giving the group treats. Unless my hand is completely full, she'll always get me, rather than the grubs or treats. All of the others manage to just eat the treats.

Is there a way to teach her to not bite the hand that feeds her?

She did go after me today when she was sitting on another chicken's egg and I went in to get it. It was the oddest thing. Two chickens were in two different nesting boxes. I came out again, and they'd switched spots and were setting on the other hen's egg.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

The pecking during treat time might just be her being clumsy. I have a girl I swear will draw blood one day, but she's not mean, just excited

 

[Justicedog]

I sort of thought it was her being a dummy, either she cannot see well or just thinks I'm tasty.
\

 

[rosemarythyme]

Options:
- Gloves.
- Don't feed by hand (I no longer do this because I don't like them jumping at me and knocking stuff out of my hand).
- Or if you think she's being deliberate instead of clumsy, peck her back with your thumb and forefinger, on the back or back of the neck, just hard enough to make her squawk. It tells her "stop that!" in chicken.

 

[New to Chicken]

I have four, and 2 of them peck hard and the others are super gentle. I think the two hard peckers get super excited and that comes out in hard pecks! I've tried a couple things...they aren't failproof, but definitely help.
1. I make my hand flat as opposed to curled, with fingers together...then I let the food run into the "grooves" between my fingers. When the pecks come down, they don't hit my fleshy hand, but the beak slips between my fingers.
2. I actually have tried to "train" by pulling my hand back and saying "gentle!" and not allowing them to peck more by holding my hand out to the gentler ones. It's sort of 50/50, but it seems if the other gentler ones feed and the 2 rougher ones get a second to get the adrenaline out of their system, when they come back to peck they have a lot less force.

 

[Tonyroo]

When I get pecked, I poke them with my index finger or grab there beak. Makes them back off and stop pecking at me.

To be honest they hate it when I do that, lol.

 

[David61]

pin them to the ground. poke them, verbally ball them out. They need and respect the pecking order. Be the rooster and get your respect.