Chickens still run when tried to be caught

[bobbi-j]

I straddle the fence on whether a given bird is pet or livestock. I have some in both capacities. Either way chasing is a no-no, even when kids are doing it. Start training kids ASAP to ieave birds alone. Then start working on getting birds to come to you for food. You will be surprised that with very little effort you will be able to get birds to do a lot like going to coop for you simply by conditioning them to go in expectation of quality eats. They can be trained using other stimuli although with less flexibility.

I agree that they can be either or both. (Depending on how you look at it, I guess.) If you're raising them strictly for meat and/or eggs, they're livestock in my opinion. If you don't care about that, and just like having them around, they're pets. Since ours eventually get put in the freezer, or jars in the pantry, I don't make pets out of them. I have had a few that have become like pets because of their personalities, but for the most part I try to avoid it. Ditto that chasing is a no-no.