FAQ’s

The Mobile, Alabama workshops consist of five days of an intensive hands-on training experience, during which time you will be training your own chickens. In between training sessions, you will hear talks on the principles and practices of Operant Conditioning. In addition, you will learn how the lessons with the chickens apply to training dogs and other animals.

In training, four eyes are usually better than two, primarily when the two are narrowly focused. In our workshops, students train with a partner. My Chicken Workshops include more than 30 hours of instruction, plus optimal training time spread over five days. Classes are intentionally small and include lectures, discussions, and demonstrations, but mainly, classes are devoted to hands-on chicken training.

Each student is assigned two chickens. Paired students take turns. While one student trains, their partner observes, critiques, and sometimes records performance data. The students then reverse roles. The trainer becomes the observer and vice-versa. This swapping of roles and rotation of chickens continues frequently. The observing role is active, not passive.

This class is hands-on. Good training techniques can only be learned hands-on. However, many students learn as much, if not more, while observing as they do while training. Alternating between trainer and observer is synergistic; the student learns more than if exclusively serving just one role.

Occasionally, students swap chickens for a short time. In this way, each student is directly exposed to the behavior of four chickens, plus witnessing the behavior of surrounding students and their chickens. As similar as chickens are physically and behaviorally, there is still a significant difference between them. Like all other animals, a solution to a behavioral problem with one chicken may not work with another chicken. The rapid rate of behavioral change is possible with chickens, and the availability of multiple chickens for each student allows for many training avenues to be explored during the week.

During the five days, we assign several training problems. Sometimes we give a specific procedure to follow in order to solve the problem. Sometimes we provide a range of possible solutions. Occasionally, especially later in the workshops, we provide only hints and let the students arrive at their own training plan. Training is a growth process. It requires that students make mistakes and experiment with changing their own behavior. Therefore, we provide an environment that encourages students to grow.

Our chicken training workshops emphasize the proper timing of reinforcement and applies three fundamental principles of operant conditioning - reinforcement, extinction, and generalization. The students have ample opportunity to explore stimulus discrimination and behavioral differentiation (shaping), and linking it together (chaining). The use of aversives (suppression) is discussed, but the chickens are never punished.

The final one-third of the workshops includes time for the students to apply their newly acquired skills and techniques.

If you have viewed the video PATIENT LIKE THE CHIPMUNKS, you will enhance your workshop experience. This video explains much of applied operant conditioning or behavior analysis technology and its history. PLTC also presents just a tiny sample of the power of operant conditioning. I recommend viewing PLTC as well as other facts about the career and contributions of Bob Bailey at https://www.bobbailey.info/ If you’d like to purchase your own copy PLTC, you can do so by emailing me kirsten@mychickenworkshops.com and on location at the workshops.

The workshop price includes lunch every day and pizza on one agreed-upon night. All other meals are on you. There are a lot of places to eat just minutes away. There are many hotel options close by. One that I recommend is the Holiday Inn Express and Suites located near the University of South Alabama. This location is within walking distance of several breakfast and dinner options as well as the beautiful campus of the University of South Alabama which is a lovely place to walk around.

109 Long Street, Mobile Alabama 36608.

Mobile has an airport approximately 5.9 miles from the workshop site. The Pensacola Airport is approximately 60 miles away to the East and Gulfport - Biloxi Airport is located 71 miles to the west. Both of these airports frequently have cheaper flights than the more conveniently located Mobile Regional Airport. We are approximately 1.6 miles North of -

I - 65 and 3 miles from East-West Interstate 10.

Mobile is a mid-sized town with many amenities. There are several good restaurants, museums and tourist attractions.

NO DOGS, CATS, or other animals are permitted in the training classes (chickens get nervous)! However, if you want or need to bring an animal with you, there are several boarding facilities in the area that we can help you locate.

Students are permitted to record the workshop FOR THEIR PERSONAL USE ONLY, NOT FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES. The recording process should not interfere with the workshops in any way and permission to film other people in the class MUST be granted by the people you capture on camera.

Students will sign a photo release and liability disclaimer.

A chicken is a simple and cautious bird, but it is not stupid. Chickens, as a group, have coped with the world for millions of years. The chicken survived by learning what to do and what not to do. In My Chicken Workshops, we take advantage of the chicken's power to learn.

The chicken's simplicity makes it an ideal model for teaching students the skills needed to shape behavior. Most higher animals are complicated by many levels of social, investigatory, or play behaviors. These complicating behaviors can be triggered by unknown or uncontrollable internal or external factors. For example, while chickens are social animals, interactions are highly stereotypic. Also, with chickens, there are fewer of the "play" behaviors we tend to observe with higher animals. Thus, the chicken seems dedicated to eating, avoiding being eaten, and reproducing, with very few diversions.

This single-mindedness is a help when shaping behavior. It allows the student to spend more time shaping behavior and less time waiting for the bird to complete some extraneous behavior pattern initiated internally or by the environment. In addition, the chicken is not only simple, but it is also FAST! Though the chicken is an omnivore, it has the speed and competitiveness of a true predator. Therefore, it takes a quick and observant trainer to correctly time the clicker to coincide with the desired behavior. In my opinion, the Leghorn chicken is probably the ideal behavioral model available for teaching animal training skills.

The total charge per 5-day workshop is $ 1,500.00 (payable in U.S. dollars).

Please note, a NON-REFUNDABLE $200.00 deposit is required to secure your place.

Venmo: @Kirsten-Kraljevic

Paypal: @KirstenKraljevic

Checks may also be accepted if you email me in advance to get approval:

Kirsten@mychickenworkshops.com

Please visit our New Events page for dates and registration information.

Or subscribe to our email list to stay informed as we grow and add more workshops.

Any Questions? email

Kirsten@mychickenworkshops.com

I’d love to hear from you.