Ask Lafeber

Hand feeding chicks

At what age do you pull chicks for handfeeding

Hi Robin,

It depends on what species of bird it is. Generally you pull them before the eyes are fully open. If you wait until they are aware of their surroundings they can be harder to convert to hand feeding. Another method of taming is to co-parent the chicks. Take one out of the nest at a time, and handle it for a few minutes. This is fine to do as long as the parents do not object too much. You don’t want them to bite a chick while trying to attack you. Keep handling the chicks until they leave the box, and then remove the nest box. Continue handling them until they are fully weaned. Just a few minutes at a time, a few times a day. Never handle them right after the parents have fed them or they may aspirate the food.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda