Chickens as Kid Training Tools

[centrarchid]

I am starting to use chickens to train my kids how to interact around animals. Yesterday evening my son helped a hen with twelve chicks reach roost about 48" above ground under their own power. The boy experimented with placement of an intermediate perch that the chicks took immediate advantage of. My sons mental wheel really started turning with that. The kids are going to help prepare for the eclipse and to get birds to shift roost site to tree. This is going to be more than a little fun.

 

[Honeybee22]

Wonderful! Sadly my kids, for the most part, could care less about our chickens. They loved the little cute chickies, but now that they've grown up ... Not so much.

 

[centrarchid]

I do not know what my kids will do when they grow up, but currently the core of their outside play area is setup for a chicken experiment where I spend some time about every hour each day on the weekend. The kids still do their own thing but have to step around 3 broody hens with chicks (38 total) and a game cock heavily into molt acting that weird way they do when feathers being swapped out in earnest.

 

[centrarchid]

For three days we have been acclimating the chickens mentioned above. My son and daughter have played significant roles. My place of work closes during the eclipse and the kids get whole day off so we will all be back to observe chickens and even some fish. Weather appears iffy for seeing eclipse directly despite being well within the range of totality. Place a mess but provides structure to reduce discord between broody hens seeking cover. All bird on roost by 1945 local time. Hens with broods in place about 1935.

Son

Daughter

Edgar the rooster in Black Locust tree.

Aquarium and stand providing two game hens and their broods with roosting sites. One is up with three week old chicks and other is down with 1 week old chicks.

Blanca over 12 chicks.

Game hen over 6 chicks.

Missouri Dominique roosting on ground with 20 chicks at 3 weeks of age.

 

[centrarchid]

We survived in position over night. All hens will come off roost with broods within a 30 second window. Then I will go to work and teach a class before racing home. Hopefully I will be able to beat the eclipse traffic expected. Human population expected to triple today.

 

[centrarchid]

We are about 15 minutes into the event. Light levels starting to dim but chickens not responding yet. Camcorder do not take good pictures of event.