teaching a chicken???

[savingpurple]

I have heard that chcickens can be trained. Well, I hope that is true...because I seem to have a "special" chicken... LOL

She is the last to get up on the roosts at night, and the last to get down and out in the morning. She stands in the coop and crys for the others. A few will run back in, and look up, talk to her, and run back out. She finally gets the nerve up to leap off, but flys into the waterer and feeder each morning. It's not funny, but have to giggle as I here the thud, and then she squawks like it hurt to do this. Well, I am sure it does. I have tried to show her to go down the ladder. She doesn't get it. I am so afraid she will injure herself.

Is there any tips on training her to do so? I plan on spending enough time on my upcoming vacation to do the training. But am unsure of how to do this? We sell meal worms at work, and was wondering if I let all others out, shut the pop door, and then laid them on the ladder each rung at a time, would she be fooled to get them and get down.?? Or even broccolli, might work?

Any suggetions are much appreciated.

 

[7L Farm]

I don't know if you could train them to do this I wish you luck. Mine were landing on the water-er as well. I just moved it out of her flight path. Mine do use the steps up but the easy way down is flight.

 

[CupOJoe42]

Maybe you should put a "handicap" ramp up to the roost for her.

 

[Carrie Lynn]

Any reason to suspect she doesn't see well?

 

[bryan99705]

Your bird may be partially blind or been injured by roosting. Suggest you lower the roost bar (keep it taller than the nest boxes) and see if her behavior changes. I've had a heavy hen injure herself from hopping of a roost and colliding with another bird. A roost does not have to be super tall and, especially in close quarters, havig tall roosts is asking for hurt birds

 

[raro]

I have a similar chicken. Your idea should work, but it will take some patience. I did a similar thing with some scratch grains in my hand. I held them at each level and she got one peck before I moved it down to the next level. She still struggles, but it's much better.

 

[savingpurple]

As far as vision goes, I am not really sure. Will have to keep an watch on her to see the routine elsewhere to see if she has other issues.

I see all the others finally using the ladder and installed it higher just recently to aid in this, but she just seems so scared to make the leap. She wants to make it over there and use it, but just can't bring herself to make the 3" jump to it, and instead makes the flight almost 6 feet to hit the feeder/waterer?

Will work on teaching her.....I have faith she can learn to walk down the ladder in the morning. She seems to get up on the roosts just fine at night, just always the last one, and then fights for a spot??

Thanks for all your input.

BTW..not sure how to do quotes, but what did you mean, Dobieslady1, but a handicap ramp? Can you explain??

 

[azygous]

Is your special chicken a heavy breed? If she's one of the heavier breeds, Brahmas, Cochins, etc, it will actually hurt their feet when they jump down from a high perch. My Brahmas are always hesitant to jump down from the roosting perch, even though it's only about two feet high. They usually wait for me to lift them down when I go out to clean their coop in the mornings.

My Brahma rooster began being reluctant to use a high perch almost as soon as he reached puberty. I built him his own roosting perch ten inches off the floor, and he began using it immediately.

I tried building the Brahma hens a ladder to use to get up and down, but they refused to use it.

If you have heavy breeds, this is something to consider.

 

[Codyandme1]

Just wondering , how old is your special chicken and has someone else owned her before you did, mabey she has had something wrong with her feet or just a bad experience with roosts,