Turning into a Chicken Behaviorist 😁

[ssferret]

a beak smack is more like a tap from us humans. I do it to teach them not to peck me. It has always worked and they keep coming back to me with a better approach (kinder)

Are you @ssferret?

Not me. Still a novice.

 

[ssferret]

On a side note, I'm sitting outside with my chickens right now. They're fine doing their own thing until I'm on my phone. Then they decide to get on my lap demanding attention.

 

[centrarchid]

Not me. Still a novice.

I am not making sense of what you are saying.

 

[ssferret]

I am not making sense of what you are saying.

Sorry. My husband tells me things like that all the time. They say ADD causes the brain to work differently. Could just be my old age though.

I thought you asked if @esme13 was quoting me. Since she explained what a true beak smack is, I guess I was saying I hadn't known at the time because I'm still fairly new to chickens. Unless I misunderstood you too.

 

[One Lucky Momma]

I am thoroughly confused. Are we talking about something like a little thump on the head? A pluck to the cluck?

and while we’re on the subject, how do you experienced people feel about interfering when one of your peeps is overtly nasty to another of their own kind? I’ve done it, but I wonder if I’m not messing with the whole pecking order thing. And then what happens to the bird I’ve just defended? Do they get hanged up on once my back is turned?

 

[floppysquirrel04]

The OP is saying she uses a sound to communicate with the cockerel. Like if you make a click sound with your mouth. She is not touching the chickens beak. She misspoke and called the sound a beak smack, which is actually when you tap on the beak of a chicken. Is that better? I think it’s a really interesting idea, and I’d like to try it myself.

 

[ssferret]

Got it.

I'm only assuming that @esme13 is talking about a little thump on the head. I'm sure she'll come back to talk about it. @floppysquirrel04 got me right.

Just wanted to let you know you're not alone on interfering with what could be a nasty fights between your peeps during pecking order. I usually don't interfere but I have. I don't think it's caused any backlash. At least no one has seemed the worse for wear when I'm not around, just little peck areas. My worry is that those I coddle more in general might be treated differently. One of them, Kotàra, started out near the top and then dropped to near bottom a couple of days later. She's the one who would get the brunt of the aggression. Of course she started most of the confrontations too.

The fights I interfered with involved someone jumping on Kotàra with claws while she cringed and screamed. I witnessed it twice although it could also have happened when I wasn't around.

I'll be curious to what the others say.

 

[ssferret]

Could a video be posted with the "beak smack"?

I'll go through my videos and find a good example. Might take a couple of days to find the time but I'll do my best.

 

[One Lucky Momma]

Dong!
the bell just went off in my head. Beak smack is a sound, as in lip smacking good, right?

I don‘t have any experience with it, but this sounds sort of like clicker training with dogs. If that’s the case, are you not reinforcing negative behavior here? Or are you able to make your beak smack sound like a reprimand?

 

[centrarchid]

I watch chickens rather closely and not noticed a beak smack. I see such in dogs and bears, but not chickens. I hear what I call "chuffing" that is only audible at very close range and it does not correspond to obvious mouth movements.