Chooks are herd animals. Never seperate out one bird for an extended amount of time, they need company. Listen to them talk to each other and you will learn the sounds for food, and sky predators, and ground predators, and etc, and be able to copy those sounds and communicate with them.

They are also creatures of habit and routine. Start out how you intend to go on, do the same thing each day, and they will be easier to control if they know what is going to happen at the same time each day.