Training chickens is not that difficult

Training Chickens

Chickens are generally very trainable birds. While they don’t do tricks, they can be taught basic lessons that make them easier to handle and reduces their stress when they do need to be handled. Chickens respond best to positive reinforcement: gentle handling and clear, repetitive instructions will lead to a calmer, better trained bird than rough handling and punishment for wrongly followed instructions.

When we first get our chicks, we pick each one up several times and hold it for a few seconds. It is important (but not essential) to begin training the chicks when they are very young. This allows them to become used to handling before they develop fear (a mental condition that does not develop until they are 3-4 days old). When you pick them up, scoop them gently and encourage them to step onto your hand before picking them up. Hold them securely so they feel safe, but not so tight that they think you’re eating them. If they flap their wings alot, gently but firmly place a finger over their wing joints to hold their wings down. Stroke them like you’d pet a cat or dog: they may even fall asleep on your hand!

For the next few days, pick them up at least once a day like this. More is better. If your chicks don’t seem to be understanding, pick them up and set them down repeatedly without pause as they figure it out.
It will help them learn that they want you to pick them up if you carry them to a “play area” where they can enjoy themselves. Chicks (and chickens) love to play. If you provide them a small corner where they can roll on the ground, flap their wings and practice flying, chase each other, eat off the ground, and perhaps even shred some newspaper they will love it. They will learn within a few days that when you come to pick them up, they might be going to the play area and will more willingly get on your hand to go there. They can stay in their play area for as little as 15 minutes to as much as several hours (make sure they have water available if they’ll be out for a while): put them back as you need to, or better yet when they are becoming tired.
However long you let them play, though, be sure to check on them every once in a while, and stay within hearing of them. Sometimes in their play they will become violent to each other (on purpose or by accident), and a chick may be injured from it. If you hear them screeching, check if they are just playing or if one is hurting. Some chicks won’t screech when hurt, so check from time to time anyway. Quick response to a chick being injured can usually keep the chick from serious injury.

Some chickens are more easily trained than others, but all can be trained. If you are having trouble training a chicken, be patient and spend more time with it. Learn what it likes and doesn’t like: for example, one of our roosters did not respond well to training to be picked up, but it turned out he liked to be lifted with his feet dangling and didn’t like standing on hands or arms. Some chickens have difficulty understanding that you are not trying to hurt them. Take a few minutes every day holding those chickens, stroking them until they relax. Perhaps you can provide them a bit of food in your free hand for them to enjoy while you hold them. Teach them that it is nice to be held.

Practice other skills with them when they are picked up, including getting their feet and wings examined, being carried around for a minute or two, and being carried away from their friends. This will make it easier (and less stressful for the chicken) if you ever need to examine them for illness or injury, restrain them for medical or show purposes, or need to move them from place to place and don’t have a cage to transport them in.

As they grow, it may be uncomfortable to hold them on your hand because of their weight and claws. You can teach them when they are this size to stand on your forearm instead of your hand: they might even prefer this because it is sometimes easier for them to hold on that way. You can also teach them to stand on your hand while it is gloved: if they seem afraid of your glove, try a different type (leather vs. cloth) and have patience. Practice holding them so that they stand calmly on your hand, and also so that you can cradle them against your chest. You can also teach them to be picked up without stepping on your hand: grab them securely under their sides near the front of their body. The first time you hold one like this, they may be alarmed. Let them stay standing on the ground, but hold on securely until they relax. You can let them go free, or move onto the next step: lift them up from the ground, so their feet are dangling. They may struggle: if you have a good grip, you may want to continue, or you can set them back down without letting go, and let them calm down again. When you (and the chicken) are ready to be picked up fully, lift them all the way up to your chest and cradle them. You can remove your hand closest to your chest and move it for the chicken to lay down on under its body (the first few times, you may want to let them stand on that hand, like they used to, to connect the experiences in their mind).

To teach a chicken to come to you is more difficult. Some chickens are naturally friendly and inquisitive, and may come over to you when you visit them, perhaps even following you around through your chores. Most chickens will come to you if they think or know that you have a treat for them. Chicken Scratch is often sold for this at feed stores, though they also like some table scraps and brown uncooked rice. If you scatter your treat for them so they can hear it, they will learn what the sound means and will come when they hear it even if they didn’t see you had it.

You might try to train them to “voice commands.” Chickens don’t seem to have much recongition of the difference in words: all our words sound the same to them, just like all their words sound the same to us. However, they can learn what you are saying if you invent “words” with whistling. For example, you can teach them “no” is a shrill one note whistle. Reinforce it with a bang or other noise that makes them stop what they are doing. Once they associate the whistle and bang, they will stop when they just hear the whistle. You can use tifferent tunes and notes to teach them other commands, too.

Where you keep your chicks for their first few weeks of life will impact how they behave when they are older. If you are able to, keep them in a main thoroughfare of your house: this will get them used to people moving around them and other movements. Then they will be less afraid of people walking around them and other movements when they are bigger. This will make it both easier for you to catch and handle them, and less frightening to the chickens too. Don’t try to walk carefully around their cage: instead, walk normally, talk, sweep, and sometimes even use the top of their cage for a table. A week or two of this exposure at a young age will help your chickens be less afraid of unknown movements and objects for their whole life.

 

Topics: chickens , training animals , chicks