Did you know chickens can do obstacle courses, choose colors and shapes, and have cognitive abilities and even mathematical abilities far more advanced than previously thought?
Watch the following videos of some very smart and intelligent chickens! You will be amazed at how smart chickens really are! Chicks can do tricks!
Chickens are very smart and have a pretty high intelligence level which makes them easy to train. They have long been used in dog training and in educational programs. Recently, people have started training their own chickens to do tricks.
Anyone who has spent even a small amount of time playing with, giving attention to, and observing their backyard chickens will quickly notice that chickens react, respond, and learn with amazing quickness.
Observe in the following featured video to see how quickly Remi a 5 week old Buff Orpington learns.
Watch the following videos of some very smart and intelligent chickens! You will be amazed at how smart chickens really are! Chicks can do tricks!
Chickens are very smart and have a pretty high intelligence level which makes them easy to train. They have long been used in dog training and in educational programs. Recently, people have started training their own chickens to do tricks.
Anyone who has spent even a small amount of time playing with, giving attention to, and observing their backyard chickens will quickly notice that chickens react, respond, and learn with amazing quickness.
Observe in the following featured video to see how quickly Remi a 5 week old Buff Orpington learns.
Featured Video: Clicker Training Chickens
Remi 5 wk old chick being clicker trained.
"This is Remi a 5 week old Buff Orpington. He is 100% English from a breeder in Texas. We are training him using positive reinforcement training by marking the behavior with a clicker. We are using mealworms as a reward. Suscribe for more videos and thanks for watching REMI PRODUCTIONS! :)" Nicole Camp Published on Jul 22, 2014
See video below.
See video below.
See Some Very Smart Chickens Trained to Do Tricks
Tricks You Can Teach Baby Chicks in Minutes
How to teach your baby chick to "Climb the ladder"
Place chick on forefinger and push your forefinger from the other hand up to the chicks breast gently, while telling the baby, "Climb the ladder, smart baby climb the ladder" using a happy tone of voice. After a few tries you baby chick will happily climb the ladder and then look up at you waiting for his or her moment of praise. The chick will happily climb from one of your fore fingers to the next until you stop or the chick get tired. Make sure you do not have the chick more than 8 inches from the ground when attempting this with very young chicks. A fall can cause internal injuries.
How to teach your baby chick to "Play dead"
Gently cover the baby chicks face while calling out, sadly, "Poor baby, play dead". Gently grasp the back of the chick and hold down the wings as you turn the chick over on it's back, cover the chicks eyes and gently lean the head and back in the palm of your hand. If the chick tries to get up just cup your free hand over the eyes and say, "No, No, play dead.."then slowly remove your palm from their eyes. The chick will learn to stay. Then when a few seconds is over, lift the baby up and say, "Smart baby you're not dead!" and "Pretty baby" and the chick will get up and get excited, looking to you for more praise and more tricks!!
Chickens have natural instincts as well as, the ability to learn. They love attention and praise. Some people use snacks or "clicker's" to get their chickens to do tricks. I have found that snacks can be very distracting. My chickens will do their tricks for praise and compliments and a snack after the show is finished. I have taught my baby chicks to "Climb the Ladder", "Give mama a kiss", "Peek a Boo!" and "Play dead" in less than five minutes. They can even choose different colored papers when I tell them the color I want.
Raising backyard pet chickens has been an absolute fun, sweet learning experience for myself and many others. The fewer chickens you have the more attention they get and the more attention they get the smarter chickens get. It's amazing.
Place chick on forefinger and push your forefinger from the other hand up to the chicks breast gently, while telling the baby, "Climb the ladder, smart baby climb the ladder" using a happy tone of voice. After a few tries you baby chick will happily climb the ladder and then look up at you waiting for his or her moment of praise. The chick will happily climb from one of your fore fingers to the next until you stop or the chick get tired. Make sure you do not have the chick more than 8 inches from the ground when attempting this with very young chicks. A fall can cause internal injuries.
How to teach your baby chick to "Play dead"
Gently cover the baby chicks face while calling out, sadly, "Poor baby, play dead". Gently grasp the back of the chick and hold down the wings as you turn the chick over on it's back, cover the chicks eyes and gently lean the head and back in the palm of your hand. If the chick tries to get up just cup your free hand over the eyes and say, "No, No, play dead.."then slowly remove your palm from their eyes. The chick will learn to stay. Then when a few seconds is over, lift the baby up and say, "Smart baby you're not dead!" and "Pretty baby" and the chick will get up and get excited, looking to you for more praise and more tricks!!
Chickens have natural instincts as well as, the ability to learn. They love attention and praise. Some people use snacks or "clicker's" to get their chickens to do tricks. I have found that snacks can be very distracting. My chickens will do their tricks for praise and compliments and a snack after the show is finished. I have taught my baby chicks to "Climb the Ladder", "Give mama a kiss", "Peek a Boo!" and "Play dead" in less than five minutes. They can even choose different colored papers when I tell them the color I want.
Raising backyard pet chickens has been an absolute fun, sweet learning experience for myself and many others. The fewer chickens you have the more attention they get and the more attention they get the smarter chickens get. It's amazing.
References:
- Clicker Training Chickens. (July 22, 2014). YouTube. Retrieved 12 September 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK73FSswwAs
