Huh? Train a chicken.??

[kathyinmo]

I could not believe this video I ran across, quite by accident. Did you know you can train a chicken??? Here is the video...

If you have tried it, please post your experience.

 

[Mahonri]

WONDERFUL!

Now if you could just get them to poop in a toilet.... and then flush!

 

[Brindlebtch]

I trained one of my dogs to touch a target with his nose in a similar way with a clicker.

 

[MidnightChickenLover]

you can teach your chicken to pick things up, jump up onto a roost, fly to your shoulder... the key is food. My cousin trained her chickens to come to her by name. She'll call Blondie, and only blondie will come..

 

[cmom]

Many many years ago I worked at a huge department store that had chickens as an attraction. The chickens did do tricks. They had a setup that everytime the birds did a trick they would get a treat. I don't know if there are any old timers out in chicken land who remembers 'Web City' in St. Petersburg, Florida. They closed 35 years ago.

 

[darkmatter]

Bout the only thing my chickens are trained to is to follow me around when I have a bucket in my hand.
I have tried hand feeding mulberries to them and have a couple that learned to jump higher and higher to get the mulberry-------The kids visiting didn't appreciate that when the "trained" hens jumped up to take stuff out of their hands unexpected.

 

[patandchickens]

Sure you can train them. They're not all that stupid. One of my first ISA Browns trained *me* (you could say I trained her, but in fact I just figured out how to get her to do what I wanted, but then, isn't that sort of what training an animal *is*?

)... she didn't like being picked up from the ground and this was back when I had to carry them to/from their outdoor space. One evening in frustration I patted the top of their run shelter, like you would in asking a cat to jump up on your lap, you know?, and she hopped up and calmly let me pick her up and take her in. Over the succeeding days, we refined this to a regular 'trick', she would jump up on what I patted b/c she knew there was 'something in it for her' (i.e. getting picked up calmly and taken back indoors to where their evening treat was waiting).

I'm pretty sure there's BYCers who've done some clicker training with their chickens, aren't there? That sort of thing, centered on a core of zoo-animal-training type 'go to the target' lessons, would probably be the easiest and most versatile, I think.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[kathyinmo]

OK, I am gonna try this. I am gonna try to train some of my chickens. I don't know exactly what yet, but I am gonna try something. I am just so fascinated with that video, and the others shown also.

 

[patandchickens]

Be cute to teach one to ring a little bell to get a treat

Shoudln't be hard, get it to peck at a target on a stick for a treat (chickens being pecky anyhow, that would be easy enough) then transfer to the bell. Nice party trick

Have fun,

Pat

 

[Whitehouse Quail]

I was laughing out loud that whole video. Makes me want to train some chickens as a living! 'Its me or the chicken'. Sound like a good reality tv show