Circle Pen Training

The young chicks start following the aircraft around a large circle pen in the early days at "chick boot camp," or ground school, when they are just a few days old. Here, the fast-growing chicks are a few weeks old. The pilot uses that long crane puppet to drop mealworms as rewards for the chicks following as the pilot drove the trike around the outside of the pen. The fence keeps the chicks safe from the aircraft/trike wheels.

Image: Operation Migration