So, how exactly does one train a chicken to pull a cart?

[wegotchickens]

A large hair clip wraps perfectly around a cat's tail bones. No pain but unwieldy and annoying. Now, at night, when I take my clip out of my hair Jezebel scowls at me and dares me to try it again

I saw a pic of a chicken flying a kite and thought that would be more fun than the chariot thing.
DD wants to teach one to ride a skateboard...

 

[wegotchickens]

Quote:
BTW, dressing cats in baby clothes is good practice for dressing babies. And I have some adorable pictures of Scooter in footed jammies

 

[Wildsky]

Quote:
You need to start when they're young.

 

[CountryMom]

And I thought that the costume classes and races with our guinea pigs in our club were a riot. LOL Now my daughters will be wanting to train the pigs to pull a cart. OH MY!

 

[wegotchickens]

Way too much cuteness so early in the day, Wildsky! Thanks for posting those!!!

 

[LittleChickenRacingTeam]

Quote:
Laugh all you want, but show me one of your chooks that has made over $10,000 in a 6 year career. This includes prize money from racing & off track betting. Lucky is the only chicken to win 3 Chicken Chariot Race Championships, & has participated in over 150 races across the province of Ontario.

As for training, we built a 16ft track at home out of a couple sheets of plywood. Lucky was trained to run the length of the track with sunflower seeds as her reward. After a couple of months doing this we attached the chariot using a rubber band to her nubbins (the meaty part of her butt that the tail feathers grow from)

The rest is history so to speak. She won her first Championship in 2003, & then again in 2004.

Thanks to the Animal Rights people, organized racing was halted in the province in 2005 & 2006. It went underground, with many friday night races being held on my property. Lucky made more money in those 2 years than the other 4 sanctioned race years.

In 2007 racing returned after we were able to prove that it was neither cruel nor animal abuse. That year Lucky placed 2nd in the Finals.

2008 saw us win our 3rd Grand Championship & Lucky retired.

I'm currently working on taking racing on the road & hope to be going to various fairs across Ontario next year. There is a guy who offers pig & duck races (oval track with no chariots) to fairs, & is fully booked during the season. Three races a day & he charges $400 per day for this.

I visit a lot of fairs to show my chicken's & sell my art eggs. This would just add to my overall bottom line.

 

[debilorrah]

I think Alpha Roo was being funny.

 

[wegotchickens]

Thanks for the how-to info.
Wonder how I can talk hubby into building a practice track

 

[suebee]

LCRT, Can you post some pictures? I have seen them since I've been a member of original byc since 2003, but the newer peeps would really get a kick out it. Pretty please?

 

[Squeaky]

Quote:
Laugh all you want, but show me one of your chooks that has made over $10,000 in a 6 year career. This includes prize money from racing & off track betting. Lucky is the only chicken to win 3 Chicken Chariot Race Championships, & has participated in over 150 races across the province of Ontario.

As for training, we built a 16ft track at home out of a couple sheets of plywood. Lucky was trained to run the length of the track with sunflower seeds as her reward. After a couple of months doing this we attached the chariot using a rubber band to her nubbins (the meaty part of her butt that the tail feathers grow from)

The rest is history so to speak. She won her first Championship in 2003, & then again in 2004.

Thanks to the Animal Rights people, organized racing was halted in the province in 2005 & 2006. It went underground, with many friday night races being held on my property. Lucky made more money in those 2 years than the other 4 sanctioned race years.

In 2007 racing returned after we were able to prove that it was neither cruel nor animal abuse. That year Lucky placed 2nd in the Finals.

2008 saw us win our 3rd Grand Championship & Lucky retired.

I'm currently working on taking racing on the road & hope to be going to various fairs across Ontario next year. There is a guy who offers pig & duck races (oval track with no chariots) to fairs, & is fully booked during the season. Three races a day & he charges $400 per day for this.

I visit a lot of fairs to show my chicken's & sell my art eggs. This would just add to my overall bottom line.

Thanks, LCRT!

Lucky's definitely a very intelligent and talented bird. It's not reasonable of anyone to expect similar talent out of the average hen. Yet it sounds like even one moderately successful racing hen could earn enough to feed and shelter the entire flock.

Now I have to build a training chute, time-test and train each chook, select the fastest and best behaved chook for advanced wagon training, and then once I convince the local authorities chicken racing ought not be illegal, off we go. I don't know that I'd get into it seriously though.

Meanwhile this is going to be great fun at parties.