How to Train Chickens (and Get Them to Do What You Want Them to Do)

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When my children were pre-school age, we lived in suburbia and my homesteading activities were limited to a small vegetable garden, canning, and cooking from scratch. I so wanted to add chickens to our backyard, but I had to do a little nagging - er, convincing - to get my husband to agree. I'd grown up with chickens, he had not. When finally he said "Oh, alright," I jumped to install a coop.

Thankfully, this was at a time when keeping backyard hens was making a comeback in urban settings; many people were getting chickens...and then deciding poultry wasn't for them. Used coops were for sale everywhere.

I scoured Craigslist, settled on a coop, and my husband and I picked it up from a lady not far from our home. She seemed overly concerned that we were judging her for getting rid of her chickens, but, she said, "They were everywhere! They ruined my garden and scratched up our pathways and I couldn't get them to behave!"  I merely nodded my head, but I was thinking to myself, "That's why I train 'em."

Most people wouldn't expect a dog to behave without training. And most people know livestock such as sheep and goats require a certain amount of training, too. But many folks, it seems, never think to train their chickens. This can result in havoc, as the lady we bought our coop from experienced. Some people don't mind chickens pooping on their porch and feeding off their vegetable garden, but I sure do. Fortunately, it's pretty easy to train chickens not to do these things.






That said, breed does seem to play a role in training. Although chickens in general aren't known for being Einsteins, if you can understand their world-view a bit, they aren't too difficult to train. As my husband says, "Chickens aren't stupid. They're just simple." We have noticed, though, that when we had Plymouth Rocks, they were easier to train than our Silver Wyandottes. And our Australorpes? Super easy to train! Still, the fact remains that all chickens are trainable - with a little patience and some know-how.

Getting Chickens Locked Up 

Chickens naturally go to roost when the sun begins setting, but some birds want to roost outside, where they are vulnerable to predators - and sometimes you may want your flock to go to bed earlier than they have a mind to. But if you've ever tried to get your flock into the henhouse when they don't want to go, you know this task can be daunting. (Chasing hens is pointless. You might get one into the coop, but while you're running after another, two will come out of the coop to see what all the fuss is about.) We've found that a visual cue works best.

When we first brought chickens into our backyard, our kids were little. Among our yard "decor" was a set of plastic toy gardening tools, including a bright blue hoe (similar to the one here). We held this hoe where the hens could see it (a foot or so from their faces), then placed it behind them, coaxing them in the direction of their coop without actually touching them. Before too long, all we had to do was lift the hoe into the air and most of the hens ran into their coop. The less submissive birds sometimes needed extra coaxing with the hoe. We also had one hen who automatically went into a crouching position when she saw the hoe. (This is what submissive hens do around roosters.) Sometimes we had to pick her up and gently place her in the coop.

Does this mean you have to go out and buy a blue plastic toy hoe? Nope. Any physical item that's easy for the birds to see will work fine.


Place each hand over the hen's wings, then pick her up and hold her under your arm.

Picking Up Hens

It's a good idea to inspect your birds once in a while, to check for signs of pests or disease. And the more you hold them, the more friendly and less skittish the chickens will be around you. But some chickens really resist being picked up - which is probably part of their survival instinct. (Predators usually carry chickens off to eat them.)

However, most hens automatically go into a crouching position (head down, wings slightly out) if you place a flat hand over - but not touching - their bodies. (Again, this is the position hens get into when a rooster wants to mate.) Once the hen is in this position, slowly and gently pick her up with both hands - one hand over each of her wings. She'll be most comfortable (and less likely to flail) if you then tuck her under one arm, snug to your body.

Coming by Name

Most chickens can learn to come when you call them by name. Begin by holding the hen and talking to her softly, using her name often. Next, place her the ground and call her name, offering her a favorite food until she comes to you. Eventually, she will come every time you call; reward her frequently with food treats.






Keeping Chickens Out of the Garden

A gentle spray of water is a good deterrent.


When we lived in the suburbs, we couldn't fence our vegetable garden; there was too little space available. We kept our hens in a run when we weren't in the backyard, but whenever we went outside, we let them free-range. Once we had them trained, our presence was usually enough to keep them out of the garden. (But if we went inside just for a minute, the birds were instantly naughty and broke the rules.) How did we train them to stay away from the garden? Water.

For about the first month of training, whenever the hens ventured into the garden, we sprayed them with a garden hose. They very quickly learned to avoid the vegetable bed. Soon we found they rarely went into the garden, but we always keep the hose on (with a spray nozzle attachment so water wasn't constantly flowing) while we were outside - just in case we needed to remind the hens to behave.

An alternative to this, which is better suited to rural homesteads, is a sprinkler with a sensor; these are commonly sold for deterring wildlife from the garden. Whenever the sprinkler senses movement, it sprays water. The only trouble with these is that they don't know chickens from children - or adults, for that matter.

If you water your garden with a sprinkler, be sure to time the waterings so they coincide with the chickens free-ranging. The sprinkler will keep the chickens away without any special effort on your part.

Other Tricks

These are really the only "tricks" your hens need to know to live happily in your yard, but if you want to learn some silly tricks that will amuse your children, search YouTube for "chicken tricks." Chickens can safely be taught to momentarily sleep, jump through a hula hoop, and so on.

This post was updated on 4/23/20. 

https://proverbsthirtyonewoman.blogspot.com/2014/06/predator-proof-your-chicken-coop-and-run.html

https://proverbsthirtyonewoman.blogspot.com/2017/05/8-common-chicken-keeping-mistakes-and.html

http://proverbsthirtyonewoman.blogspot.com/2013/09/tips-for-getting-clean-chicken-eggs.html#.WIEPEn3krcQ


28 comments

  1. That's great! I haven't spent much time trying to train my chickens, but it sounds like fun.

    My younger sister had trained chickens when we were kids. She had one that would ride on her bicycle handlebars...really turned heads!

    Found you on the Morristribe's blog carnival :)

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  2. This is awesome. We have 5 older ladies we bought last September. But we just ordered 25 chicks from a hatchery. These tips are coming at just the right time. Pretty good how God likes to time things. BTW, I'm lovin your blog!

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  3. This is awesome. We have 5 older ladies we bought last September. But we just ordered 25 chicks from a hatchery. These tips are coming at just the right time. Pretty good how God likes to time things. BTW, I'm lovin your blog!

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  4. Great article. The only way I've trained my chickens is to whistle the 'chicken dance' when I go out to feed them. They start looking for me when I start whistling!

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  5. This is very helpful...I tend to have a hard time grabbing my chickens I end up chasing them around thank you for sharing this post... it will be fun domesticating them

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  6. I guess I've been blessed. I've never had chickens that didn't coop themselves at dusk, but perhaps I was training them without realizing it. I handle my two Plymouth Rocks, Henrietta and Edna, a lot since they're intended for pets and not meat. When they were chicks I'd play with them in the evening and then put them in their coop. I guess they figured it out. All I have to do is close the ramp. I've always said "Night night" in a high voice to the girls and after awhile they started answering back matching my high pitched voice and the number of syllables except they make a sound more like "Er er". That's pretty smart. Edna also has taken to pecking at the back door screen to let us know she wants some scratch. Both hens also come to the back door and squawk when they hear the garage door open...but only when my husband comes home from work. They won't stop squawking until he says hello.

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  7. Maricam, yes, all chickens will go to roost at night without being encouraged to. But sometimes, you may want them to go to the hen house before they are ready to. This sometimes happens with us because we want to be done with chores for the evening - and while it's dusk, there are some chickens still out and about. Or sometimes, for safety reasons, we need them in the hen house for a bit.

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  8. I also only have two...which probably makes things a lot easier when it comes to catching and cooping them. :) Once one is caught the other seems to kind of give up.

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  9. My husband, who grew up on a farm, just shakes his head when I call my hens in from 'free ranging'. "Hey girls -- time to go in -- come on girls", and out they all come from all over the yard, bushes and under decks to follow me to their pen (including the roo). Never have had any that like me to pick them up though.

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  10. Dehydrated meal worms works like a charm. All you have to do is shake the container and your chicks follow you anywhere. Total chicken control and the protein is good for them too.

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  11. Ditto for the mealworms: I instantly have my girls' attention! I'm going to work on them coming when called by name though. Thanks for the tips!

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  12. Good tips! We do all of these with our chickens - it really is surprising how much they can learn. Our herding items are two long sticks that we use to extend our arms and guide them if they go astray. We've unintentionally trained our chickens to respond to a high pitched call of 'babies!'. My fault! They were my little babies when I was raising them haha. I love hearing my father call out to them :)

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  13. We bought our first chickens this year and getting them in the coop was hard at first and stressful to say the least. So I chopped up a few slices of white bread and gave the voice command COME ON and threw the bread on the ground. A few times doing that they would follow me anywhere, so I began throwing it in their coop and in they go. No more stress.

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  14. I too must have trained our girls without trying. We pick up our girls all the time and have since they were chicks. They come to the back door when they want treats and a simple call, "took-took" will bring them running from where ever. That is the same call we have used since they were babies, meaning there is food! Together we like to look under rocks for bugs. Problem is that we can no longer garden without chickens under foot hoping to get a grub. We do have to fence off our garden or babysit with a spray bottle in hand. Otherwise they are so much fun and the eggs are great too!

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  15. Kindness to chickens stood out to me.
    Maybe we should be kind to one another.

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  16. Pls. advise me how to train chickens that they become very friendly with humans and not afraid to run away from humans.

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  17. Fareed, the only way to make chickens unafraid of humans is to handle them often and gently. This works best if you begin when they are chicks, but with patience and persistence, it will work to a degree if you begin when they are full grown. But even the most domesticated chickens will run away from you if you want them to do something they don't want to do :) Our hens are very used to humans and handling, and are a laid back breed besides (Australorps), but they will occasionally run away when we want to put them back in their run and they've been free ranging.

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  18. Thanks you very much for your reply. I am planning to keep some egg laying hens at home. And in this regard i'll bother you and keep asking questions from you time to time. I believe your opinions will help me to raise my chickens...

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  19. Ms. Kristina Seleshanko. pls. tell me how to keep warm hens in the coop. Winter is just to arrive.. awaiting your rpely.. regards

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    1. Fareed, if temperatures don't reach freezing in your area, you don't have to do anything special at all for your hens. They are well covered in feathers that keep them warm. If temps drop below that, first make sure they have access to unfrozen water. Consider using sand or a deep liter method in the hen house. Choose a breed that is better suited to cold weather. You *can* heat the hen house with a heat lamp, but it is risky. It could cause a fire. Here are some additional guidelines: http://www.tractorsupply.com/know-how_Chicken-Care_how-to-prepare-your-chickens-for-winter

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  20. thank you very much for your advises. I'll follow. Regards

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  21. We spend at least an hour with our chicks when they arrive. Usually in 5-10 minute intervals throughout the day. Early bonding seems to last a lifetime. I also wear the same color T-shirt every time I tend the animals so the chickens know me on sight. I also call out "chick chick" loudly as I toss a cup of rolled oats or other treat to them. If I have time I will stay and talk calmly to them when they eat their treat. We usually keep about 40 hens and two roosters. The roos don't fight much because we got them at the same time and they grew up together. When they do tussle it is never serious. We also practice spot-checks of the hen's vents so they are handled pretty regularly. We only name our favorites because as you can imagine it would be hard to keep track of all 40. My favorite is Penny (Henny Penny), a very docile Rhode Island Red. We have a mixed flock because we like the variety of egg colors and sizes. As a city kid, I never imagined raising chickens and never in a million years would I have thought I would love our chickens the way I do. Good luck to every one! I hope you enjoy your chickens.

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  22. I remember doing this for my granmdmas ducks and geese, me an my sis would stand on the back deck and yell get your fresh rant rants..no clue where we came up with the saying, but they would all run,fly, to the back deck where we would have treats for them..Chickens are not dumb either, we have 3 girls,and 5 babies, They all know there names, and we have picked them up since they were pullets, and they are amazing animals, they actually listen to us.Its kinda funny.

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  23. Chickens naturally go into their roost when it gets dark, there is nothing you need to do to make this happen.

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  24. Me, yes they do. But sometimes we want them to go to bed early, or get them to do other things we want :) That's what this post is about.

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  25. mine want to roost on the back porch railing instead of their coop and we end up carrying them to their coop every night. It is kind of a pain, how do I change that habit?

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