training chickens for voluntary flight

[centrarchid]

I wish a body of water was available to lure my birds to fly over. I think they would do it easily over a 100 foot wide body. Will likely have to settle for a soybean feild in Missouri river bottoms. Flat as pancake with a couple point to point flyways in excess of 1/4 mile. Someday this week I will take gang to soccer feilds near same location and see how they react. Hope they will walk with me as I go around feilds. If all goes well they may still attempt to follow if I walk fast or possibly get into slow job. Being in open area, especially a strange one will create a very different dynamic that might promote flight to nearest clump of vegetation. Then all I will have to do is walk over and call them to carrying case.

 

[centrarchid]

Today we got a 100 foot voluntary horizantal flight on a slight down grade with altitude low enough that ground effect benefits can not be ruled out. One hundred feet none the less!

 

[tuesdays chicks]

congrats!

 

[centrarchid]

Tried to get bums to repeat twice at 30 minute intervals but they simply ran to me instead of flying. I wonder what gets them to fly one time and not the next.

All my birds flying more frequently and further when coming down from roost in AM. Some flights pushing fifty feet even when starting point only 4 feet from ground. I have been watching sequence every morning for weeks and they all seem to move at once, even when from different roosts. They go strait for water and do not do much in way of feeding for at least 30 minutes.

 

[tuesdays chicks]

my girls only fly when they think they are going to get something from me and want to be the 1st there, 1 flys then the rest well not the brahma so much anymore she was funny flying but my girls have always taken off from ground level they do pretty good for not being trained.

 

[centrarchid]

Quote:
The flying is not so much a function of training. They can do it naturally when properly motivated (i.e. avoiding predator), although I am attempting to change context in which flight occurs. The training maybe increasing their capacity for flight (hoping so) but so far I have seen nothing that even approaches what they can do if they were scared of me and trying seek cover by flight.

 

[centrarchid]

Training for voluntary flight more than directly related to flight itself. Getting birds to test site needs to be done in manner that is not inclined to stress birds out. Stress prior to flight may compromise performance so I am now trying to get the avian-dinos to help me with transport process. They must learn how to get into carrier themselves and be accustomed to the ride. I took only 15 minutes to get them to go into carrier loaded on transport. Wife not too keen on birds in car so gonna use scooter. Test site only 4 miles away on gravel road so should not be a major problem. I hope to be able to get them like dogs so that when I holler "box" they will jump in the carrier and let me close door.


Below is Honda Big Ruckus serving as high efficiency transport. Will be interesting see reaction when I drive by as Eduardo belts out a crow.

So far Eduardo (1076 g and Sally (894 g) are not stressed by carrier and transport. I hope they do not take to pooping on it.

Eduardo after being baited in. Did it several times so he is not obviously stressed by confinement.

I can hear great horned owls in distant. Sounds like territorial dispute.

 

[ducksarecool12]

i wanna train my chicks now

 

[centrarchid]

Quote:
What do you have in mind?

 

[ducksarecool12]

i wanna see what all they are capable of doing