Train chicken to be tame and stay in pen

[SarahGfa]

I have 2 broody-raised cockerels I want to make tame. I read in other threads to put chickens in small individual pens, and get them eating mealworms from your hands. So, I have done that. The next step is to get them used to being touched. The problem is that as soon as I open the pen more than a crack, they bolt. Then I have to chase them down, and then they hate me, and we are back to square one. Even if I put the rooster pen in a fenced area, they keep trying to escape. I tried to put one on a tie cord, but he somehow took it off.

They are asils, so it should not be that hard. what am i doing wrong?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Well first step would be to not chase them down whenever you come into their pen

 

[SarahGfa]

I know that. The goal is to not have to chase them down. That's the question I am asking. They don't return to their pens on their own even though they have been living there for 3 weeks already.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Maybe ask on some asil threads then. From my understanding, you don't let them out of their pens and then you don't have to catch them

 

[SarahGfa]

Right. I am not letting them out of their pens. They escape when I open the door to put my hand in. I want to train them to stay inside.

 

[Sally PB]

Can you block off the door area of the pen so that you can get in with out them having access to the door as you open it? Like an air lock.

 

[SarahGfa]

My friend put me in touch with someone who has studied falconry and I got some good tips. Falconers basacally capture wild hawks and tame them into cage birds that hunt on command. The way to tame falcons is to deprive them of food to the point of starvation, and also have lots of noise (like a loud radio) for at least 24 hours so the bird can't sleep. Once the wild hawk is too hungry and tired to do anything, then give it tiny bits of food one piece at a time while using a clicker. A hood also helps because the wild hawk can't fly away if it can't see anything.

My mistake was leaving a full feeder in the rooster pens. He said that well-fed birds will try to escape. They need to be always hungry. I always knew that gamefowl keepers only fed their birds a little cup per day, but I thought it was to keep the birds from getting fat.

So I will try this (but probably not the loud radio, because the neighbors will complain).

 

[Aithon]

My friend put me in touch with someone who has studied falconry and I got some good tips. Falconers basacally capture wild hawks and tame them into cage birds that hunt on command. The way to tame falcons is to deprive them of food to the point of starvation, and also have lots of noise (like a loud radio) for at least 24 hours so the bird can't sleep. Once the wild hawk is too hungry and tired to do anything, then give it tiny bits of food one piece at a time while using a clicker. A hood also helps because the wild hawk can't fly away if it can't see anything.

This was one of the first things that comes up when looking for training tips and I felt like I had to say something about it.

As an aspiring falconer, I've never seen or heard a falconer ever recommend that. To train a raptor, you are supposed to spend hours a day with them to gain trust, and slowly train them as you would with any animal. You never ever starve an animal to "train" it, that's literally torture. Same with the "lots of loud noise so the bird can't sleep." You're just abusing an animal, there's no nice way to put it. I would report that person to animal control.

The right way to train roosters, or any animal, is positive reinforcement, aka food. Chickens will do anything for a treat.
When you go out, bring treats with you and hand feed them through the fence without opening the gate. Ring a bell or say a word whenever you feed them/give them treats so they know that sound means food. If they run out when you open the gate, just leave them be. Don't try to chase/grab or even touch them unless it's an emergency. Ring the bell/say the word when it's getting dark and give them treats. Do this for a few weeks, and they should learn to come when they hear whatever sound you trained them to.

Again, never starve your animals. It's cruel and doesn't do anything.

 

[SarahGfa]

Food doesn't work as positive reinforcement unless the animal is HUNGRY.

anyways, my roosters are now hand-tame and nicely go back to their own pens by themselves every evening. all i have to do is close the door behind them.

come back when you are an actual falconer and not just someone who read about falconry on the internet.

 

[Aithon]

Food doesn't work as positive reinforcement unless the animal is HUNGRY.

anyways, my roosters are now hand-tame and nicely go back to their own pens by themselves every evening. all i have to do is close the door behind them.

come back when you are an actual falconer and not just someone who read about falconry on the internet.

https://www.ohiofalconry.org/about-falconry/basic-training

http://www.carolinaraptorcenter.org/learn/resident-birds/how-we-train-birds/

http://www.themodernapprentice.com/basics.htm

"Do you have to starve them to get them to come back?
Just as top athletes pay close attention to what they eat and their caloric intake, their weight, their fat, and their muscle mass, falconers pay close attention to their birds. An athlete cannot perform to his full potential unless he maintains the right balance of these and exercises daily. So must a falconer work his bird to keep her in top form exercising her daily and carefully measuring her food to track her caloric intake. She must have enough fat reserves and energy to successfully chase game for, sometimes, hours on end. A starving bird cannot do this."
-themodernapprentice/questions

I may not be a falconer yet, but I've done years of research on it and have trained other animals, so I think I have enough knowledge and experience to know that that "falconer" is wrong.
It should be common sense to not starve animals. Besides raptors, I've researched training for other animals, and good trainers never use abuse (that includes starving them) to train their animals, they take the time to form a partnership. Abusive training methods might get the job done fast, but your animal doesn't respect you and you won't bond with them. I've personally used positive reinforcement to train all my animals, and not only do they do what I ask them to do, but they also enjoy my presence and come running when they see me. I don't baby them, I just show them respect.