A Random Thing I Got for My Chickens

[Neil1366]

So I got this so called chicken rattle off of eBay (they have a lot of chicken playsets such as a swing, xylophone, bridge, mirror and some weird hanging stick that you can poke cabbage, lettuce or basically any type of vegetable or fruit through) and I may or may not regret buying it. So technically what this thing is supposed to do is trying to get your chickens to return (as in follow you) back to their coop. It's basically training your chicken to listen to you when it's time to head inside. A chicken caller. Shake it, they listen and they start running. I tried it on two of my Leghorn chickens. They kind of started to get with the program but were still slacking a little bit. My poor six-year-old brown Plymouth Rock was a little frightened of the toy and my five year old black and white Plymouth Rock didn't have a care in the world about the shaking sound. We shake things up at them all the time. Whenever it's time for dinner, we have a cup of dried mealworms and we shake it in front of them and they start running like Usain Bolt. What I'm asking is how do I get my chickens interested in this toy? Do they just need a little more time or is it something else?

Here's the link to the product if you were wondering: ebay.com/itm/185504127822

 

[Tonyroo]

Chickens learn by repetition, it may take a month to half a year for them to understand your intentions.

 

[Neil1366]

Thanks for that. I'll just keep trying and give them patience. My chicken's name is also Tony. I followed you.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Shake it, treat them, repeat. Do it a few times a day at first. It shouldn't take that long for them to pick up on it, but you need to treat 100% of the time immediately after they come or turn their attention to you so they make the association.

I don't bother with a "toy" though, I just shake the actual treat container and/or call out to them, and they know to come.