Five Tips For Taming Chickens

Taming will likely be your first priority after providing safe housing and stocking up on food for your new pet chickens.

So, how do you tame a chicken?

Chickens can be flighty and excitable, so you'll want to avoid forcing yourself upon them. Let them get used to their habitat first. It's easier if you've gotten them as baby chicks, as you can start handling them after just a few days.

Though baby chicks love to be held and gently petted, the same will not likely be true if you've gotten your pet chicken(s) after they've grown up.

Follow the tips below to turn that beautiful, but flighty, bird into a pet you can enjoy interacting with:

• Move slowly when approaching your newly acquired chicken(s)

• Talk, sing, or whistle a tune - chickens have excellent hearing and will cock their heads in interest. Soon they'll realize you mean no harm and will get used to your presence.

• Crouch down and slowly extend your hand with a treat in it - the first few times they may not come close, but you can drop the treat down and back up while they investigate it - soon they'll eat it.

• Spend as much time around your chickens as possible, they'll lose their shyness and eventually come when you call them. "Chick,chick,chick" will work fine 'til they get used to their names.

• When they come running to your call reward them with a piece of bread or fruit. Then reach down slowly and gently, pick them up and pet them.

Repeat often and your chickens will be begging for treats, flying onto your shoulders, or just following you everywhere you go. To learn more about all aspects of raising chickens, keeping them as pets, and showing them in competition visit the 'For the Love of Chickens' website.