Can you teach chickens simple tricks?

[Thechickentrainer1999]

Jump
Ring the bell
Peck a specific color for a specific treat
Jump on your shoulder
Run to you with the call of "LOOK!!"
Play with a ball ect...
GOD bless!

 

[Tatuana]

My DD's the expert chicken trainer. I feel all chickens can be trained....

Holy cow, that's impressive! I have one very important question - how the HECK do you get the chickens to behave and not run around?! Angry Baby is VERY smart, and if you hold a worm up above something he'll quickly figure out how to get up to get it without me showing him. But he always does it in a panic. Then grabs the worm and runs off in a panic. Yours are perfect little angels. Do you have a special "Magic Mushroom" tonic for them? (Joking, of course! But seriously, they're very well behaved!)


Thank you all for the awesome ideas! I'm thinking Angry Baby is too angry to behave for worms, but maybe I can teach Oogity a thing or two (Such as picking cards). I just have to find something they like as well as mealworms. They don't really eat veggies. And meal worm guts are... Gross.

 

[Faraday40]

Holy cow, that's impressive! I have one very important question - how the HECK do you get the chickens to behave and not run around?! Angry Baby is VERY smart, and if you hold a worm up above something he'll quickly figure out how to get up to get it without me showing him. But he always does it in a panic. Then grabs the worm and runs off in a panic. Yours are perfect little angels. Do you have a special "Magic Mushroom" tonic for them? (Joking, of course! But seriously, they're very well behaved!)


Thank you all for the awesome ideas! I'm thinking Angry Baby is too angry to behave for worms, but maybe I can teach Oogity a thing or two (Such as picking cards). I just have to find something they like as well as mealworms. They don't really eat veggies. And meal worm guts are... Gross.

What breed(s) are your chicks? In the chick & young pullet stage, the best thing to do is get the daily routine down and do bonding time. Teach them that you are the giver of treats. All of my birds like scratch grains so I ration it and save it for training times. (It's not good for young chicks, so depending on age, you may have to wait before using it.) They also sell dehydrated mealworms which is another good treat when fresh bugs are not in season.

Spend time bonding with your chicks by placing a towel on your lap (with a chicken on it) while you're watching TV, reading a book, or on the computer. Start with only a few min. If they're nervous being away from the other chicks, try holding two. Young chicks quickly imprint on their owners, so getting them to follow is rarely a problem. Our broody raised chicks are more wild, but they normally calm down a lot by point of lay. I'm sure you'll see the same behavior change as yours mature. Bubbles & Trouble didn't receive much training before 6 months old.

Bubbles (the Dominique) was a planned addition. DD wanted a striped hen, so we hatched some eggs purchased from the internet. Only one chick hatched & our broody hen at the time refused to adopt the lonely little Dom. I had DD take a chick away from the broody hen to befriend the lonely only Dom chick. The two became BFFs but the plan was always to sell all the chicks except for one Dominique. Bubbles was always a happy chick but the Sebright was "Trouble." She loved to escape enclosures & encouraged Bubbles to follow. The two partners in crime would take outings to the neighbors' patio where they would be fed bread crusts & table scraps. Obviously the neighbor enjoyed the company, but we needed a fast easy way to get them home ASAP. As winter was approaching, we sold all the chicks & even had a home waiting for "Trouble"....... but we just couldn't separate the two. DD promised she'd train Trouble to fly back home to us when called, and that's what she did. Trouble will only land on the arms of people whom she trusts.... like the kids, me, ..... & our neighbor. LOL Bubbles was of course DD's fav, so she got a lot of attention. Bubbles would perform for everybody and learned to enjoy the attention & excitement as much as the treats.

 

[Tatuana]

What breed(s) are your chicks? In the chick & young pullet stage, the best thing to do is get the daily routine down and do bonding time. Teach them that you are the giver of treats. All of my birds like scratch grains so I ration it and save it for training times. (It's not good for young chicks, so depending on age, you may have to wait before using it.) They also sell dehydrated mealworms which is another good treat when fresh bugs are not in season.

I'm not 100 percent positive since they're a barnyard mix. They appear to be a barred rock, a black copper marans, and a buckeye for the older three. The younger three are pure Wyandotte for two, and the other is a Orpington. The younger three I bought from the store, so they're pure as far as I know.

I'll have to start rationing mealworms for training, I think. It's so hard to not want to spoil them. Maybe it's a good way to teach myself self control! I like seeing them happy.

Spend time bonding with your chicks by placing a towel on your lap (with a chicken on it) while you're watching TV, reading a book, or on the computer. Start with only a few min. If they're nervous being away from the other chicks, try holding two. Young chicks quickly imprint on their owners, so getting them to follow is rarely a problem.

Following me is VERY easily done, but having them hang out while I sit is a struggle. They all want to run and explore, and peck at everything. Should I just let them run, or should I try to keep them on my lap? Eyllwe (Finally got the spelling right) is pretty calm about sitting, at least. They all happily run up into my lap.

I'm sure you'll see the same behavior change as yours mature. Bubbles & Trouble didn't receive much training before 6 months old.

That's nice to know that you can train them when they're older! I know some animals if you don't get them very young they're set in stone in habits. Chickens seemed to me to be the type that would get their habits imprinted and not be able to learn new things. I'm learning that's NOT the case.

DD promised she'd train Trouble to fly back home to us when called, and that's what she did.

That is a very talented girl!! Seriously, I can't imagine how you would even begin to train a chicken to fly home. Nevermind getting the chicken to land on your arm. I bet that's amazing to see. You're lucky your neighbor is so understanding as well. I 'adopted' the neighbor's cat for about two years without realizing he had an owner. When I finally discovered who he belonged to the lady was horrified and thought I was going to take him to the shelter. I love having the neighbor's pets visit me, and clearly he had a home, so we just enjoyed him 'singing' as he came in the cat door to announce himself every night.

 

[Faraday40]

@Tatuana
" I 'adopted' the neighbor's cat for about two years without realizing he had an owner."


That's too funny!


Most of our neighbors have unofficially adopted our chickens. We live in a neighborhood, so before building a coop, we asked around if anyone would mind our DD getting into poultry for 4H. They were more than supportive and even donated some building supplies. They buy our extra eggs, pet sit when we're away, and even throw misc veggie scraps over the fence. Our next door neighbor (a big animal lover) had dog biscuits at her house for our dogs..... but didn't even own a dog! Sadly after 50 year she moved to a retirement community, but the new neighbors are also fond of our flock and enjoy gardening.

Our 1st chickens were backyard mixes. They can be very hardy birds - not to mention have unique looks and personality. Our 6 yr old Easter Egger loved to patrol the yard and chase off the squirrels. She was so fearless, we actually thought she was a little rooster for several months. We had planned to keep "Tyrion" until he crowed, but she laid pretty blue eggs instead. This last year Tyrion stopped her squirrel chasing, but she's still laying those pretty blue eggs.

 

[Fishkeeper]

https://www.scienceworld.ca/blog/chickens-can-do-math
Chickens can do basic math. They're a lot smarter than people think, many animals are. You can train just about anything with a brain to do simple tasks, if you take the right training route and reward it with food. Cockroaches, goldfish (which have memories much longer than 5 seconds), cats, small children, and pretty much whatever else you can interact with.

Look up clicker training methods to teach dogs tricks. Those methods should work fairly well. Chickens are very visual, so brightly-colored targets and indicators can also help. Combine dog training methods with target training, and you should get results.

A few years ago, I trained a goldfish to do some basic tricks using a target-training wand that could release food from the end. Push a tiny soccer ball into a tiny goal, swim through a hoop, that sort of thing. A company was, and possibly still is, selling a kit to train goldfish. They're not the brightest animals, but they aren't stupid either.

 

[chicksofclaridon]

When I got my first chicks I tried to CONSTANTLY hold them and socialize them so that they would be cuddly and sweet when they were older. As they got older (and faster) they would do anything to get away from me and I felt like a terrible failure! It wasn't until right before they started to lay their first eggs, they started their submissive squatting and I was finally able to pick them up and cuddle them again! Like someone else said, some love it and others not so much. But I wish someone had told me that the older they got, the friendlier they may become. Maybe not everyone's experience, but now some of my girls beg for me to hold them while others are indifferent. Only 1 of my 6 really doesn't like it, which I respect as long as long as she's not sick or injured.

Also, I'm not sure about training them to be patient for treats but I know 2 of my girls naturally are patient while I am handing out treats. I swear, it's like one of them knows that each one gets a blueberry, one at a time, and she stands there sweetly looking at me, makes eye contact when it's her turn and gently takes it out of my hand. So who knows if it's just a personality trait or something that can be worked on!

 

[9SpiceyChickens]

This isn't a huge pressing issue, more of a curiosity than anything. One of the kids I babysit asked me today if my chickens know any tricks, or if they're teachable. It got me wondering, can you actually teach them simple tricks or tasks?

The answer is yes.

If so, how do you go about it?

First, if you give them treats you have to stop for 1-3 weeks. (Thats important so its not a snack, its a reward) Then, you need to "physically" make them do the activety and give them a treat. Do that once a day, for 1-2 weeks. They'll start learning kinda slow tho. Then help them do the first part, and let them do the 2nd part themselves. Do that 2-3 weeks. Also, every time you do this, say a certain 1 sylable word/sound before you do it.

What kinds of things can you teach them? Lay down? Move a ball? I've no idea how smart a chicken is!

They are very smart. My chickens knows how to jump onto my arm, lay down, and walk down to the park without a leash or harness!

Speaking of teaching them, is it possible to get them to hold still while you feed them a treat? Not a grab and run type deal? I'd like to be able to see them more than "MINE GIMMIE BYE!".

Also, do chickens like being held/pet?

Sometimes!

Is that something I could teach three week old babies?

Yes, I taught my 2 month old!

Or are they too old?

Nope.

I've been fairly hands off up until the last week. They're comfortable with me picking them up, but it doesn't seem to excite them.