The thinking chicken. Recent findings about domestic chicken behavior.

[Pajaro]

I found a link to an article about chicken behavior to share with those of you who might be interested. I sure found it interesting and insightful!
https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10071-016-1064-4.pdf

 

[ChickNanny13]

Thanks for sharing

 

[chickens really]

Lol.......

 

[Crazy for Chickens!]

Will checking out!

 

[peckpeckpeck]

My ladies definitely have individual personalities & preferences & make choices. I do clicker training & was amazed at how quickly they pick things up.
Thanks so much for sharing!

 

[Pajaro]

Hi Peckpeckpeck,

Nice to meet you. Yes!!
Now, let's talk shop. Clicker training is popular and very effective for all kinds of animals. However, I have not used it in dog training. Instead of marking a behavior with the clicker, I use a word spoken in a happy, upbeat voice followed with a food reward.
Either technique seems to work well in dog training, but
which technique do you think is better for training the chicken?
What is your initial training environment like?
Do you start by separating each bird from the flock and placing them in a low distraction environment, or do you find that it works better to train with the flock and others nearby?
I would love to attend a chicken training workshop. I have heard about the Baileys, but not sure if they are still around. Do you know of any chicken training workshops or seminars coming up in 2018?

Ann (from east of Sacramento)

 

[peckpeckpeck]

Hi Peckpeckpeck,

Nice to meet you. Yes!!
Now, let's talk shop. Clicker training is popular and very effective for all kinds of animals. However, I have not used it in dog training. Instead of marking a behavior with the clicker, I use a word spoken in a happy, upbeat voice followed with a food reward.
Either technique seems to work well in dog training, but
which technique do you think is better for training the chicken?
What is your initial training environment like?
Do you start by separating each bird from the flock and placing them in a low distraction environment, or do you find that it works better to train with the flock and others nearby?
I would love to attend a chicken training workshop. I have heard about the Baileys, but not sure if they are still around. Do you know of any chicken training workshops or seminars coming up in 2018?

Ann (from east of Sacramento)

Hi Ann!
I started clicker training with my dog 8 years ago because she's a rescue & strong or loud voices scared her. Also I was training her with my partner & it was easier to have us both use a clicker than try to coordinate verbal cues.

We just got the chickens this spring. A huge difference I noticed is how chickens do everything in warp speed. They notice things faster & move faster than any dog I've seen.

Most people can click a lot faster & more consistently then they can say "Good girl".

I don't know about chicken training workshops. I learned from a dog trainer friend & did some of the Karen Pryor workshops online. Then just applied the same techniques to the chickies.

Positive reinforcement -
Let them explore.
Get them used to the idea of click = treats.
Then click & treat every time they look or move in the direction of what you want them to do, until they get closer & closer
I start with simple things like "Touch" with my hand
They're super curious anyway

I definitely separate them in the beginning. I'm just not fast enough to keep up with them orherwise.
For example, if one of them jumps on my arm, by the time I treat her the other girls already realize I'm reaching for a treat & mug me!! So the girl who did what I want gets less & the other girls get treats for mugging me which is cute but very bad behavior.

What are you trying to get them to do? General things like come when you call or cirque de soleil type tricks?

Let me know how it goes!
Oh -- here's a little video when they realized xylophone=treats
Grace

 

[Sunshine Flock]

Chicken training school?

 

[Pajaro]

You bet! I worked hard all my life: jumped through all the hoops and sometimes worked for 'chicken feed'.
My DH and I are both retired now. I think it's time for someone else to jump through hoops and work for chicken feed...namely, real chickens!
I want to try my hand at chicken training. Who knows where it may lead?
American comedian and actor, Milton Berle, once said:
I’d rather be a could-be if I cannot be an are;
because a could-be is a maybe who is reaching for a star,
I’d rather be a has-been than a might-have-been, by far;
for a might have-been has never been,
but a has was once an are.”


OTE="CarolinaSunshineFlock, post: 19214462, member: 493821"]Chicken training school?

[/QUOTE]

 

[Pajaro]

Hi Ann!
I started clicker training with my dog 8 years ago because she's a rescue & strong or loud voices scared her. Also I was training her with my partner & it was easier to have us both use a clicker than try to coordinate verbal cues.

We just got the chickens this spring. A huge difference I noticed is how chickens do everything in warp speed. They notice things faster & move faster than any dog I've seen.

Most people can click a lot faster & more consistently then they can say "Good girl".

I don't know about chicken training workshops. I learned from a dog trainer friend & did some of the Karen Pryor workshops online. Then just applied the same techniques to the chickies.

Positive reinforcement -
Let them explore.
Get them used to the idea of click = treats.
Then click & treat every time they look or move in the direction of what you want them to do, until they get closer & closer
I start with simple things like "Touch" with my hand
They're super curious anyway

I definitely separate them in the beginning. I'm just not fast enough to keep up with them orherwise.
For example, if one of them jumps on my arm, by the time I treat her the other girls already realize I'm reaching for a treat & mug me!! So the girl who did what I want gets less & the other girls get treats for mugging me which is cute but very bad behavior.

What are you trying to get them to do? General things like come when you call or cirque de soleil type tricks?

Let me know how it goes!
Oh -- here's a little video when they realized xylophone=treats
Grace