HOW TO potty train a chicken

[mimi2012]

Does anyone know how to potty train a chicken? (without using a clicker)
She's about 5 weeks old...

I reeeaaallly want to keep her in my house.
(No diapers for an option)

If I chase her to the litter box whenever she poops, do you think she'll learn eventually?

PLEASE HELP!!!

 

[aoxa]

Chickens can not be housebroken. They will need a diaper if you want to make a pet out of them. The only time I find a chicken will control her 'bladder' (can't think of a better term) is when they are broody..

You should think about the chicken before yourself.. It should be allowed access to the outdoors during the day, which would not require a diaper, and have a safe place to roost during the night (which could be inside, but should be in a kennel or a cage).

 

[Nicole01]

I agree, they go when they need to and do not hold it in. I made a chicken diaper and lined the inside with plastic. They were not to pleased with it, but if I kept at it they would of worn it with no problems. Inside the plastic I used two panty liners to catch the poop. It worked slick, but my girls hate to be separated, plus my dog chewed up the diaper.

I just made a saddle due to feather picking. It took a day before my hen was comfortable wearing it. It's been a week and now her feathers are growing back thankfully. I need to modify it and add wing bow protection. I'll do this soon. I want to make a few more saddles. I used Velcro instead of snaps to hold the elastic at the bottom and it works beautifully. My poor machine needs to be cleaned and serviced. I have another machine(Bernina), but I can't lift it due to my neck injury. It's been used once and sits in my closet. I'm about to have my husband take it out for me to finish my products. I'm not the best sewer, but I can get the job done and I have all the supplies.

They have free patterns online and a YouTube video how to make the diaper and saddle if you have your own machine to sew. Otherwise there are perfect ones online to buy at a decent price.

Good luck.

 

[mimi2012]

OF COURSE I will give them free access to my backyard all day!!

And inside the house too if they want to.
I just thought spending a little time with them in the house might be fun, like when watching TV.

It's also a hassle to build a coop outside (buying is too expensive, so no) , so I want to let them be inside when it's raining (or bad weather) and when it's time to sleep.
Another reason, I'm afraid they might disturb the neighbors with their cluckings (like when after they lay eggs)
.
For the nest box and a place to sleep, I'm planning on using a plastic bucket or some kind of box with hay in it, inside the house.
I'll also make them a roosting place.

SOOOO back to the question →→→　Does anyone know how to POTTY TRAIN a chicken? Any stories about experiences are fine too!
(And no diapers for an option) PLEASE

 

[dolly85]

I've heard several stories of people training chickens simple tricks like jumping through a hoop, playing a piano, taking a bow, etc. Chickens, like any other animal, vary in degrees of intelligence so it may or may not be possible to teach your chickens tricks. Goats aren't that smart and I potty trained a baby pygmy goat several years ago. At age 15 she still won't potty in the house or the car though she primarily lives outside. If you want to try and teach your chicks to potty outside or in a litterbox go for it! It may take several weeks of repetition but who's to say it isn't possible?

 

[mimi2012]

anymore suggestions?

 

[mimi2012]

I'm sure potty training a chicken isn't 100% impossible.
Someones gotta know!!!

 

[Ksane]

My little Serama is inside, we watch movies together all the time. I wrap him in his little blanket and he doesn't poop the whole time while we're cuddled up. I set him next to me on some newspaper and he'll go then. He's not 'housebroken' though, I just happen to know if I put him down he'll go so I put him on the newspaper at certain intervals. If I were you I'd give the chickens access to a tiled area that's easy to clean. Use baby gates or what have you, like with puppies.They're not ever going to become truly housebroken. Their digestive system doesn't work that way. So if you want them in the house you'll have to work around that fact.

 

[LavendarFeather]

Dogs can be housebroken because they have an instinct not to eliminate where they eat and sleep. Bunnies can be litter box trained because they generally like to go in the same spot all the time. Point is, the training is based on developing a behavior that comes naturally to the animal. If you get a dog from a puppy mill that was raised in filth, without the option to eliminate in a separate area, it can be extremely difficult to housebreak. I don't know if chickens are even aware of when they are eliminating--there seems to be no pattern. The only thing that makes me think there's any hope at all is the fact that they do "hold it" when broody--but not sure whether or not you'd be able to expand on that. Maybe you could try making her a "TV chair" based on a nesting box, with golf balls in it ;-) My suggestion would be to decide what time you want to have her inside with you, and don't make it too long--like maybe watching one half hour show together. Then experiment with withholding food before that time, until you find what works. IF that's safe to do. I am new to chickens, and of course the babies need to eat constantly. I'm not sure if it's okay to withhold food from an adult for any amount of time (I'm not talking a long time, maybe an hour or so.) You could observe them to see if there's any pattern to when they eat, and when they eliminate.

 

[kk+chickens]

i have a hen that likes to sit on my shoulder and she seems to be potty trained enough to know you don’t poop on mom. i have noticed that almost every time she leaves my shoulder, when she’s down on the ground, she immediately poops. she doesn’t poop on me even if she’s on my shoulder for like 30 minutes. i don’t know what did that. i’ve had her since she was a few days old, so she hasn’t had any other owners. maybe when she was a chick or pullet and she pooped on me, i would put her down to get cleaned up and she learned that it interrupted her cuddle time? she doesn’t come in the house unless it’s for first aid or something, so i’m not sure how she would do with that.