Renting with Chickens?

[Animalian]

What would improve my chances of being able to rent with my hens?

I'm thinking raising the coop and run on stilts so they won't damage the lawn or anything, and bribing the landlord with eggs! I onyl have four (possibly six if the chicks hatch out as hens) bantams.

Any other ideas?

 

[OlyChickenGuy]

My chickens are pets, so they're leash and harness trained, they ride my bike with me, and are very well-behaved. Being able to carry one of your chooks right into the office to meet the landlord ( if they're okay with pets in their office, of course! ) tends to be a selling-point because they can SEE the bird, meet the personality ( many people don't believe chickens have personalities - ESPECIALLY if they don't live with them, personally! ), and see for themselves that the bird is well-behaved. Since I can prove that my chickens are trained and well-behaved I have had LITTLE issue with taking them into stores with me, meeting landlords, going to friend's houses, and the public transportation system where I live has even given special permission to MY chickens ( no one else's chickens ) to ride after meeting the birds personally.

Chickens are very trainable, and probably one of the easiest things to train them is to tolerate being carried around with you. If you can carry your chicken into a strange, new place, sit them on your lap for about an hour ( fifteen minutes is even impressive ), and walk out without incident ( this includes pooping - if you cover their rear-end with your arm it simulates a nest, which stimulates their "no-going" instincts ), I've found more often than not that people are sold on my chickens being allowed in social areas!

Good luck!

 

[rngrbill]

Quote:
How do you train a chicken of 20 wks and up to tolerate being picked up and carried around with you or is it already to late?

 

[OlyChickenGuy]

It's never too late to train your chickens! In my experience they're actually MORE trainable than dogs - they catch on quickly, and they're INCREDIBLY smart. I've trained full-grown chickens to ride my bike with me ( don't worry - every chicken I work with is harness trained right-off so they're comfortable in a harness, and I hook a leash to them so they're safe on the bike ).

Here are some videos on chicken training:

link <-- This is the account of two people who took part in a "chicken training course" that's taught by a guy who trains dog trainers.
link <-- This is a poorly-made video with annoying music, but it shows more of the stuff that was done at this "chicken camp". This is the same group as the afore mentioned.
link <-- A lady shows you the steps that she took to train her chickens to jump up to her.
link <-- My personal favourite, a chicken agility course. The reason I love this one is because of the coordination and creative thinking this chicken shows. It knocks over the pins and spool-things that she's supposed to, but she does it with her feet and tail as well as pecking at them - all in her natural course of movement, too!

Although almost all of the chickens shown in these videos are leghorns, they are NOT the "most intelligent" breed of chicken - they're just the most attainable. I've worked with MANY different breeds of all different ages ( from day old chicks to ten year old hens ), and even turkeys, peacocks, and crows. Someone had an extremely human-aggressive rooster that they wanted gone, and I was able to walk in, pick him up, and within about a week of working with him, he was sleeping at the foot of my bed in a cat carrier. He felt safer in the carrier than in the open - when not in the carrier, he'd jump at the tiniest intrusion and crow to alert me of the danger. All roosters who have lived with me have been broken of crowing - for the mots part. Bowser crows now and then when I haven't been paying enough attention to the group, but crowing is a sign of dominance or distress, which means calm and submissive chickens that feel safe in their environment have no reason to crow!

I also have a link in my signature to my blog which is, more or less, "How to Train Your Chicken". If you have any specific questions, I'll be more than happy to answer Emails. I hope this has helped.