Have you ever looked at your backyard chickens and thought, “I wonder if they could learn tricks?” Well, I’ve got news for you – chickens are way smarter than most people give them credit for! In fact, research has shown that chickens can be smarter than dogs, cats, and even 4-year-old toddlers in some cognitive tasks. Pretty impressive for creatures often dismissed as “bird brains,” right?
As a chicken owner for many years, I’ve discovered that training chickens isn’t just possible—it’s actually quite fun and rewarding Whether you want to teach your flock practical skills like returning to their coop at night or impressive tricks like navigating an obstacle course, this guide will walk you through everything you need to know about chicken training.
Why Train Your Chickens?
Before we dive into the how-to, let’s talk about why you might want to train your feathered friends:
- Safety: Training chickens to come when called or return to their coop can keep them safe from predators
- Bonding: Training sessions build trust between you and your flock
- Practical benefits: Trained chickens lay eggs in nesting boxes and follow routines that make chicken keeping easier
- Mental stimulation: Training provides enrichment that keeps your chickens’ minds sharp and prevents boredom
- Entertainment: Let’s face it—showing off your chicken’s tricks to friends and family is just plain fun!
The Science Behind Chicken Training
Chickens learn through a process called operant conditioning. In simple terms, this means they associate certain behaviors with rewards When a chicken performs a desired behavior and receives something they want (usually a treat), they’re more likely to repeat that behavior in the future
The amazing thing about chickens is that they have excellent long-term memory. Once they learn something, they tend to remember it well. This makes training stick once you’ve successfully taught a behavior.
Essential Training Tools
You don’t need much to start training your chickens
- Treats: The most important tool! Find what your chickens go crazy for—mealworms, corn, sunflower seeds, or chopped grapes all work well.
- Clicker (optional): A small device that makes a clicking sound to mark when your chicken has done something right.
- Target stick (optional): A stick with a ball on the end that helps guide your chicken.
- Patience: Perhaps the most important ingredient of all!
The Basic Training Method
Here’s the fundamental approach that works for teaching chickens just about anything:
- Choose the right setting: Train in a quiet area with minimal distractions, especially when first teaching a new behavior.
- Pick the right chicken: Start with your friendliest, most food-motivated hen. Confident, curious chickens learn fastest.
- Break it down: Divide complex behaviors into small, achievable steps.
- Reward immediately: Give treats the instant your chicken performs the desired behavior.
- Keep sessions short: Aim for 5-10 minutes, 2-3 times daily. Chickens have short attention spans.
- Be consistent: Use the same cues and rewards each time.
- End on success: Always finish training sessions after your chicken has successfully performed a behavior.
7 Essential Skills to Teach Your Chickens
1. Coming When Called
This is probably the most useful skill for chicken owners, especially if you free-range your flock. Here’s how to teach it:
- Choose a consistent call or sound (like “Here chickies!” or clapping).
- Make your call and immediately offer treats. Don’t expect them to come to you yet.
- Repeat this for several days until they associate your call with treats.
- Start making the call and taking a few steps back, rewarding when they follow.
- Gradually increase distance until they’ll come running from anywhere in the yard.
For my flock, I use a combination of clapping my hands while walking toward the coop and shaking a treat bag. The sound of that bag rattling brings them running from all corners of the yard!
2. Coop Training
Teaching chickens to return to their coop at night saves you from having to chase them around:
- Keep chickens confined to the coop and run for about a week when they’re new.
- Feed treats inside the coop to create positive associations.
- Open the coop door at the same time each morning.
- Close the coop door at the same time each evening.
- Be consistent with your routine.
Most chickens will naturally return to roost at dusk, but reinforcing this behavior with treats helps ensure they don’t decide to sleep in trees or other unsafe locations.
3. Using Nesting Boxes
While laying eggs is natural for hens, using designated nesting boxes isn’t always intuitive:
- Place fake eggs or golf balls in nesting boxes as visual cues.
- Make nesting boxes comfortable, dark, and private.
- If you find eggs laid elsewhere, move them to the nesting box.
- Reward hens who use the nesting boxes with treats.
This training prevents eggs from being laid in random spots where they might get broken or be harder to find.
4. Being Handled Calmly
Chickens that tolerate handling are easier to check for health issues and more enjoyable as pets:
- Start by sprinkling treats around your feet (not throwing them).
- Progress to offering treats from your hand.
- While they’re eating from your hand, gently stroke their backs.
- Gradually work up to brief periods of holding.
- Never chase chickens you want to pick up!
With consistent, gentle handling, even skittish chickens can become quite tame. For best results, start handling chicks from a young age.
5. Obstacle Courses
This is where chicken training gets really fun! An obstacle course might include:
- Tunnels: Fabric play tunnels work great
- Jumps: Hoops, sticks, or wooden dowels set up as hurdles
- Teeter-totters: A board balanced on a block
- A-frames: Two boards that meet at a peak
- Weave poles: Sticks or dowels placed in the ground
Start by teaching each obstacle individually, using treats to lure your chicken through or over each element. Once they master individual obstacles, you can chain them together into a course.
6. Musical Instruments
Believe it or not, chickens can be taught to play simple instruments like xylophones or keyboards!
- Place treats on the keys or bars you want your chicken to peck.
- Start with just a few notes and gradually add more.
- Choose assertive chickens with strong pecking tendencies for this trick.
While not particularly practical, this trick is guaranteed to impress visitors!
7. Wearing a Harness/Leash
Yes, you can actually leash-train chickens! This is helpful for supervised free-ranging or taking your chicken on outings:
- Get your chicken comfortable with the harness by placing treats near it.
- Gradually progress to touching the chicken with the harness while giving treats.
- Place the harness on for brief periods, increasing duration over time.
- Add the leash and practice walking short distances.
This takes lots of patience but can be useful for keeping chickens safe outside their normal environment.
Common Challenges & Solutions
Problem: My chicken is scared of me
Solution: Start by simply sitting near your chickens without trying to touch them. Place treats around you and let them approach on their own terms. Be patient and consistent.
Problem: My chicken won’t come when called
Solution: Make sure you’re using high-value treats they really love. Try a different call or sound that’s more distinctive. Also, make sure you’re not inadvertently teaching them to avoid you by only calling them when it’s time to go back in the coop.
Problem: My chicken starts a behavior but doesn’t complete it
Solution: You’re moving too fast. Break the behavior down into smaller steps and reward each step before moving on.
Problem: My flock fights over treats during training
Solution: Train one chicken at a time in a separate area, or use a training station where each chicken has their own spot.
Advanced Training Tips
Once your chickens master the basics, you might want to try:
- Color recognition: Train chickens to peck at objects of a specific color
- Shape recognition: Teach them to identify and peck at certain shapes
- Figure-8 patterns: Have them walk in a figure-8 around cones
- Playing cards: Train them to peck at specific cards
Final Thoughts
Remember, not all chickens learn at the same pace. Some are naturally more trainable than others. Focus on the eager learners first – their success often encourages the more reluctant members of your flock to join in.
I’ve found that the most rewarding part of training chickens isn’t just the practical benefits or impressive tricks – it’s the relationship you build with your flock. There’s something special about a chicken that comes running when you call, hops up on your lap for treats, or proudly shows off a new trick.
So grab some treats, head out to your coop, and start training! Your “bird-brained” chickens might just surprise you with how quickly they learn and how much they enjoy the process. And don’t forget to take videos – chicken tricks make for great social media content that’ll have your friends and family amazed at what your feathered friends can do!
Have you tried training your chickens? What tricks have they learned? I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments below!
# Come when Called
After the obstacle course, training my chickens to come when called is probably my second favorite chicken trick to teach. I free-range my flock on the homestead, so whenever I want to put them in their enclosure, I just call for them and they come running!
Every spring and summer I have to teach this trick to the new pullets and cockerels I raise. It helps that my older flock is already trained. The younger birds take their cue from the older flock and learn very quickly!
Training chickens to come when called requires two things: a marker action or word, and treats! The marker action that I use is running/walking to the coop while clapping my hands. You can also use a verbal phrase to call your chickens as well. Make sure the action is loud enough that your hens can hear you even when they are far away.
Next, have some treats in a bag. I find that re-using old chicken treat bags work best. When I shake the bag, the contents rattle around and make noise. My flock loves the sound of a shaking treat bag! If the first marker cue isn’t enough, the rattling of the bag is usually enough motivation for the stragglers to hustle on over so that they don’t miss the treats.
You can actually train your chickens to be friendly! Friendliness training is often best started at a very young age. However, you can still teach older hens to become friendly too. All it requires is some high-value treats and patience.
Start off by teaching your chickens that seeing you means treats. And don’t throw the treats! Sprinkle them around your feet so that your hens have to come near you to eat the treats. After they are comfortable with that, squat down near them while they are eating the treats. Chickens often get frightened when something stoops down near them or over them, it’s just an instinctual response. Conditioning them to you moving up and down will make for less flighty hens.
The next step would be to get them comfortable with eating out of your hand. Then, while they are eating, slowly start petting them. Once they are used to your touch, you can incorporate in picking them up for brief periods of time. Do this gently and slowly, and never chase the chicken you want to pick up! Repeated treat time and holding time will condition your flock to being around and near you.
Once you have a friendly chicken, you can even teach it to give hugs! Simple squat down near the chicken and offer treats over your shoulder. The chicken will have to nuzzle up near your neck in order to reach over your shoulder to get the treats. You can even teach the hen to hug on cue by teaching her a command!
Training a show chicken is important if you plan on attending and participating in poultry shows. However, even if you don’t show your chickens, training them to do some of the show skills is fun and helpful!
Of course, you will have to condition your chicken to be held in the proper showing manner as well as get them used to you flipping them upside down and examining their different body parts. However, one of the most important and hardest skills to train your showchicken to do will be to pose.
Posing means the chicken has to stand in the proper posture for its breed. It must also stay still for a lengthy period of time. Chickens who are as close to their breed standard as possible will not have too much of a problem with striking the right pose. Many breeders breed their chickens to have the proper composition for their breed, which thus ensures the proper posing posture.
Either way when a chicken is posed, it must have its head up, its tail held at a certain angle, and its feet evenly spaced apart. Show chickens should be taught to hold this pose for a lengthy period of time. They should also be used to you walking around them and even to you using a posing stick if necessary.
Training your chicken to pose will take time and patience. Handle your bird A LOT. Continually posing, repositioning, and treating will be necessary. Remember to always make the training session an enjoyable experience for both you and the bird!
# Play a Musical Instrument
While I actually haven’t tried this myself, I do know that chickens can be taught to play certain musical instruments! Two common instruments that chickens can play are the xylophone and the keyboard.
You can just have your hens peck out a random tune, or actually teach them to peck at certain keys and play a song. The easiest way to teach a hen to play a tune would be to place treats on the keys you want her to peck at. Keep it simple at first. Only do a few keys at a time. Slowly lengthen the number of keys she has to remember to peck at. Constant repetition and reward will help your hen memorize her tune!
When choosing a chicken to train to a musical instrument, pick an assertive hen. A hen who naturally pecks hard will be able to play better than a light pecker. Food motivation and long attention span are also important when choosing a musically talented hen!
HOW TO TRAIN BACKYARD CHICKENS | Friendlier Chicks, Egg Laying Hen Recall, Break/Prevent Bad Habits
FAQ
How do you train a chicken?
This can range from simple natural tasks like training to sleep in the coop or lay in the nesting box, but can also reinforce behaviors like coming when they are called or being picked up. Depending on the task, chickens can be trained rather easily, and just need repeated exposure to the task and the associated reward.
Should you train a chicken?
Training actually works better with smaller-sized flocks (fewer than ten chickens). And the more chickens in a flock, the harder it is to manage them. However, training the chicken is something every backyard chicken keeper can and should do. Training actually enriches lives both of the birds and the keeper.
How do you train a free-range chicken?
You can train your chicken to do just about anything— sit, come when called, or even use a litter box. Chickens can also be taught to be tamed around people, to be picked up, to willingly go in the coop at night, or to stay in the yard. Chicken training isn’t easy, but it’s possible over time. Wondering how to train free-range chickens?
How do I train my chicks?
In order to train effectively, you need to train the chicks separately (with one exception, see Training Levels, below). Before you try any basic commands, the chick must be familiar with you and calm in your presence. Always move slowly when around young chicks (and adult hens, for that matter) and speak quietly to them.
How do you train a chicken to jump?
If you just use regular commercial feed for training, the chicken is more likely to lose interest and you will have wasted your time. Hold a treat (e.g. a mealworm) between your fingers, making sure the chicken will have to jump in order to reach it. Tell it to jump and it will.
How do I Coop train my chickens?
Here’s how you can coop train your chickens: For a week limit your chickens to the coop and run. A change from one coop or yard to another can be stressful for chickens, which is why you should take care when transporting chickens. Young chickens adjusting to coop life may take much longer too.
Are chickens easy to train?
Like mentioned before: treats, treats, treats. But they actually enjoy interaction and learning new stuff so chickens are fairly easy to train. And their memories are excellent. They remember kindness (and cruelty).
What is the 90 10 rule for chickens?
Our top advice is to follow a 90/10 rule for laying hens: 90% complete layer feed and 10% chicken treats to help provide a balanced diet to your birds.
How do you discipline chickens?
Perhaps the most humane way to do this is to show dominance similarly to how you’d train a dog. For chicken domination, at first sign of attack, reach down, grab the bird by the feet, turn it upside down—ignore the squawking—and tuck it under your arm like a football.