I recall reading somewhere that it’s only our possessions that “elevate” us above the other species and without possessions our behavior becomes indistinguishable from any other species; an interesting view and to my mind, not without merit.
I’ve watched people feeding chickens kitchen scraps and treats. They throw them on the ground in a big pile and a melee ensues, with lots of excited squawks and pecking as the various chickens vie for the largest, or tastiest pieces. The most junior chickens tend to grab a piece if they can and if it’s too large to swallow in one go, run off with it in their beaks to eat it undisturbed away from the others. The more senior peck at the more junior if they get in the way, grabbing what they can in between. In these melees occasional mistakes are made in all the excitement and a junior chicken pecks a more senior and a brief fight ensues and of course neither is concentrating on the food while these “restoring face” fights go on.
Often the person that has thrown the food on the ground stands there watching with a satisfied smile on there face; maybe they’re thinking they’re glad they are not like this.. I think this is rather demeaning for both humans and chickens, throwing scraps of food and watching other creatures fight over them.
It’s my belief that if I stood on a tall chair in the middle of a city center with a bag full of twenty pound notes and threw handfuls into the crowd a similar melee would ensue.
If on the other hand I was to give each person a note in turn, after a while people would perhaps jostle a bit to be at the front of the queue, but given it was apparent to everyone that there were enough notes to ensure everyone got one, people would wait their turn. A simplistic model I acknowledge; there will always the greedy ones, those who won’t wait, e.t.c.
Chickens I discovered from experimenting with how I feed them have a sense of fairness much the same as humans. For chickens food is currency.
In the normal/natural course of foraging the “large pile of food melee” rarely occurs. The hens tend to forage a little distance apart while the cock keeps watch for predators. When a hen does find food it’s usually small and is eaten instantly. When say a large worm is unearthed a hen may run off with it, trying to eat as they try to avoid any other hens that have noticed and given chase. It rarely ends in a fight.
Given chickens are tribal and favor small groups comprising a cock and three or four hens the situation where you could have say twenty hens competing for food in the same place doesn’t arise in “natural” conditions.
These melees over food are not characteristic of a chicken’s normal behavior but happen in response to human feeding behavior and how we keep them, as does much of their behavior.
In a typical stable tribe, if you give the senior cock a piece of treat food by hand, he will hold it in his beak and then drop it for his favorite hen, calling her if she isn’t already there, telling her he’s found food, nodding his head and pointing with his beak. Sometimes the cock will eat the first piece and drop any further pieces, but the point here is the cock will feed the hens. If a hen takes the food he drops as far as the cocks concerned it’s a sign that she is willing to mate. Usually the cock dances around the hen kicking the leg that is furthest away from the hen outwards. The cock is more likely to feed a laying hen than one that isn’t. Initially I thought the senior hen would get preference but this hasn’t been the case here at Can P; the favorite hen gets preference and the favorite isn’t necessarily the most senior.
A pertinent observation at this point is, despite thousands of years of evolution you can still hear women complaining having been on a date with a man, that the man assumes she will sleep with him because he bought her dinner. The relationship between providing food and mating is still relevant.
Important Points.
The cocks success at acquiring mating opportunities is dependent in part on being able to find food for the hens.
As far as the cocks concerned if you find/provide more/better treats/food for his hens he risks losing his hens to you. Strangely this doesn’t often happen, but this is what the cock believes.
If you watch two groups comprising a cock and hens, when the groups get close, the cocks scratch the ground and make I’ve found food sounds so his hens will gather round him
So, often aggressive behavior is because you’re feeding his hens and he isn’t.
Picking him up, or marching at him, isn’t going to make the slightest difference to a cocks behavior who believes this. What will make a difference is if you can make it look as if he is finding the food.
With the cocks here, they march up to me now when the hens are hungry and I get them food. I don’t feed the hens unless the cock does this when I’m dealing with an insecure cock. The cock is then still the one who ‘got’ the food. It doesn’t matter if he presses a button for it, digs it out of the ground, or gets me to give it to him.
When I first started trying to feed the chickens by hand progress was slow. Major (senior cock in Tribe 1) was the easiest, and then the rest of the Marans from Tribe 1. It takes patience. I squat so I’m not leaning over the chicken and offer a piece of treat food of a size that can be eaten in one bite. If the chicken won’t approach me I gently toss the food closer to them and try again. A lot will depend on the relationship you have with the chickens and if relevant, the treatment they’ve had from other humans. Bluespot and Harold were the last to eat out of my hand but given their experiences of the human species here at Can P it’s hardly surprising.
Once one chicken from a tribe sees another take food from your hand the process becomes easier; they learn from watching each other and in particular, from the senior hens. There does of course come a point when some will and some won’t and the more confident will dive for any food that you are trying to offer to one of the more reluctant. In this case I make a few treats and while one of the more confident is taking the treat I throw another piece close to the more reluctant. The important part is that you make sure every chicken gets a piece. It doesn’t take them long to realize that if they wait they’ll get something. You get a reputation for being fair and they respond accordingly by not fighting among themselves and not snatching the food from you. It gets terribly civilized.
There are I believe a few rules that help you and the chickens and I try to stick to them.
Offer any treats to the senior cock of the tribe first. If he takes it and eats it do it again. Cockerels of the tribe will usually just eat what you give them although a cockerel who is trying to impress one of the hens will also drop food for them; cockerels get fed last.
So far none of the senior males have carried on eating whatever I’ve given them unless it’s been a rare occasion when they’ve been on their own. Cillin (senior cock in Tribe 1 who seems to think I’m one of his hens) when I’ve tried to give him a treat when he’s on his own often drops it in front of me and makes I’ve found food calls and will only eat it once I’ve made it clear I don’t want it.
Offering it the senior male first helps maintain his authority and position of provider. This is very important because he is the one who will take care of the hens while you’ll be doing other things, ie most of their lives. He does this all day, every day and will make you look completely unreliable, blind, deaf and in general inadequate. Don’t undermine his authority. Once a relationship is established its often enough just to offer the food to him first, his favorite hen will probably be trying to grab it out of your hand by then.
Feed the senior hen after the senior cock, and if you know what the seniority order is, work your way down it. The only exception is when a hen has chicks and hasn’t yet had them accepted into the tribe; feed them separately if possible. A hen with chicks will just drop the food for her chicks and the other hens will try to grab it and this can threaten the chicks safety and the mum may attack.
Why bother?
One very important point about hand feeding is the chickens get used to being close to you. Get it right and they’ll come right up to you when you call them.
I don’t believe many chickens like being touched by humans and only one in my experience liked being picked up. I do virtually all my health checks and associated care while the chicken is standing. I only pick them up if absolutely necessary; separating fighting cocks for example. Having the chickens used to being touched while still having the flight option seems to keep them calm.
I say hello to all Tribe 1 and most of Tribe 3 by touching their beak if they come to me.
However, there are times when you need to be able to pick them up quickly; an injured chicken needing medical attention, isn’t improved having been chased around the garden for half an hour.. Having watched and participated in trying to catch injured chickens here at Can P, I soon realized that it would be far easier if the chicken came to you and food makes it worth the risk.
Hand feeding takes more time so you are more likely to spot health and behavior problems.
For me it’s a lovely experience. There isn’t anything quite like having chicks a few days old sitting on your hand eating while mum looks on.
I’ve watched people feeding chickens kitchen scraps and treats. They throw them on the ground in a big pile and a melee ensues, with lots of excited squawks and pecking as the various chickens vie for the largest, or tastiest pieces. The most junior chickens tend to grab a piece if they can and if it’s too large to swallow in one go, run off with it in their beaks to eat it undisturbed away from the others. The more senior peck at the more junior if they get in the way, grabbing what they can in between. In these melees occasional mistakes are made in all the excitement and a junior chicken pecks a more senior and a brief fight ensues and of course neither is concentrating on the food while these “restoring face” fights go on.
Often the person that has thrown the food on the ground stands there watching with a satisfied smile on there face; maybe they’re thinking they’re glad they are not like this.. I think this is rather demeaning for both humans and chickens, throwing scraps of food and watching other creatures fight over them.
It’s my belief that if I stood on a tall chair in the middle of a city center with a bag full of twenty pound notes and threw handfuls into the crowd a similar melee would ensue.
If on the other hand I was to give each person a note in turn, after a while people would perhaps jostle a bit to be at the front of the queue, but given it was apparent to everyone that there were enough notes to ensure everyone got one, people would wait their turn. A simplistic model I acknowledge; there will always the greedy ones, those who won’t wait, e.t.c.
Chickens I discovered from experimenting with how I feed them have a sense of fairness much the same as humans. For chickens food is currency.
In the normal/natural course of foraging the “large pile of food melee” rarely occurs. The hens tend to forage a little distance apart while the cock keeps watch for predators. When a hen does find food it’s usually small and is eaten instantly. When say a large worm is unearthed a hen may run off with it, trying to eat as they try to avoid any other hens that have noticed and given chase. It rarely ends in a fight.
Given chickens are tribal and favor small groups comprising a cock and three or four hens the situation where you could have say twenty hens competing for food in the same place doesn’t arise in “natural” conditions.
These melees over food are not characteristic of a chicken’s normal behavior but happen in response to human feeding behavior and how we keep them, as does much of their behavior.
In a typical stable tribe, if you give the senior cock a piece of treat food by hand, he will hold it in his beak and then drop it for his favorite hen, calling her if she isn’t already there, telling her he’s found food, nodding his head and pointing with his beak. Sometimes the cock will eat the first piece and drop any further pieces, but the point here is the cock will feed the hens. If a hen takes the food he drops as far as the cocks concerned it’s a sign that she is willing to mate. Usually the cock dances around the hen kicking the leg that is furthest away from the hen outwards. The cock is more likely to feed a laying hen than one that isn’t. Initially I thought the senior hen would get preference but this hasn’t been the case here at Can P; the favorite hen gets preference and the favorite isn’t necessarily the most senior.
A pertinent observation at this point is, despite thousands of years of evolution you can still hear women complaining having been on a date with a man, that the man assumes she will sleep with him because he bought her dinner. The relationship between providing food and mating is still relevant.
Important Points.
The cocks success at acquiring mating opportunities is dependent in part on being able to find food for the hens.
As far as the cocks concerned if you find/provide more/better treats/food for his hens he risks losing his hens to you. Strangely this doesn’t often happen, but this is what the cock believes.
If you watch two groups comprising a cock and hens, when the groups get close, the cocks scratch the ground and make I’ve found food sounds so his hens will gather round him
So, often aggressive behavior is because you’re feeding his hens and he isn’t.
Picking him up, or marching at him, isn’t going to make the slightest difference to a cocks behavior who believes this. What will make a difference is if you can make it look as if he is finding the food.
With the cocks here, they march up to me now when the hens are hungry and I get them food. I don’t feed the hens unless the cock does this when I’m dealing with an insecure cock. The cock is then still the one who ‘got’ the food. It doesn’t matter if he presses a button for it, digs it out of the ground, or gets me to give it to him.
When I first started trying to feed the chickens by hand progress was slow. Major (senior cock in Tribe 1) was the easiest, and then the rest of the Marans from Tribe 1. It takes patience. I squat so I’m not leaning over the chicken and offer a piece of treat food of a size that can be eaten in one bite. If the chicken won’t approach me I gently toss the food closer to them and try again. A lot will depend on the relationship you have with the chickens and if relevant, the treatment they’ve had from other humans. Bluespot and Harold were the last to eat out of my hand but given their experiences of the human species here at Can P it’s hardly surprising.
Once one chicken from a tribe sees another take food from your hand the process becomes easier; they learn from watching each other and in particular, from the senior hens. There does of course come a point when some will and some won’t and the more confident will dive for any food that you are trying to offer to one of the more reluctant. In this case I make a few treats and while one of the more confident is taking the treat I throw another piece close to the more reluctant. The important part is that you make sure every chicken gets a piece. It doesn’t take them long to realize that if they wait they’ll get something. You get a reputation for being fair and they respond accordingly by not fighting among themselves and not snatching the food from you. It gets terribly civilized.
There are I believe a few rules that help you and the chickens and I try to stick to them.
Offer any treats to the senior cock of the tribe first. If he takes it and eats it do it again. Cockerels of the tribe will usually just eat what you give them although a cockerel who is trying to impress one of the hens will also drop food for them; cockerels get fed last.
So far none of the senior males have carried on eating whatever I’ve given them unless it’s been a rare occasion when they’ve been on their own. Cillin (senior cock in Tribe 1 who seems to think I’m one of his hens) when I’ve tried to give him a treat when he’s on his own often drops it in front of me and makes I’ve found food calls and will only eat it once I’ve made it clear I don’t want it.
Offering it the senior male first helps maintain his authority and position of provider. This is very important because he is the one who will take care of the hens while you’ll be doing other things, ie most of their lives. He does this all day, every day and will make you look completely unreliable, blind, deaf and in general inadequate. Don’t undermine his authority. Once a relationship is established its often enough just to offer the food to him first, his favorite hen will probably be trying to grab it out of your hand by then.
Feed the senior hen after the senior cock, and if you know what the seniority order is, work your way down it. The only exception is when a hen has chicks and hasn’t yet had them accepted into the tribe; feed them separately if possible. A hen with chicks will just drop the food for her chicks and the other hens will try to grab it and this can threaten the chicks safety and the mum may attack.
Why bother?
One very important point about hand feeding is the chickens get used to being close to you. Get it right and they’ll come right up to you when you call them.
I don’t believe many chickens like being touched by humans and only one in my experience liked being picked up. I do virtually all my health checks and associated care while the chicken is standing. I only pick them up if absolutely necessary; separating fighting cocks for example. Having the chickens used to being touched while still having the flight option seems to keep them calm.
I say hello to all Tribe 1 and most of Tribe 3 by touching their beak if they come to me.
However, there are times when you need to be able to pick them up quickly; an injured chicken needing medical attention, isn’t improved having been chased around the garden for half an hour.. Having watched and participated in trying to catch injured chickens here at Can P, I soon realized that it would be far easier if the chicken came to you and food makes it worth the risk.
Hand feeding takes more time so you are more likely to spot health and behavior problems.
For me it’s a lovely experience. There isn’t anything quite like having chicks a few days old sitting on your hand eating while mum looks on.
