KPA CTP Jessica Benoit’s chicken, Tiny, has been on cage rest recovering from a broken leg, so Jessica has been teaching her color discrimination. Discrimination training involves reinforcing a behavior (e.g., pecking) in the presence of one stimulus but not others. As you will see in this video, Tiny has learned to discriminate the red lid from other colors. “I taught this behavior just as a fun exercise to help keep Tiny stimulated mentally,” said Jessica. “However, the training has been even more beneficial because I have been able to use it to get her moving around more to help rehabilitate her leg.”

Discrimination training can be done with many different species using visual, olfactory, tactile, and auditory stimuli. For more information about teaching your animal fun and useful concepts for work, sport, or daily living, check out KPA’s Concept Training course series!