Stories about your intelligent chickens/breeds that seem smarter

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Criskin

Criskin

Lost somewhere in a book
10 Years
May 19, 2009
653
13
138
The cabin beside the lake
Okay, so our feathered friends don't really have the reputation of being the smartest creatures in the barnyard...or backyard...but I know there are some entertaining "smart chicken" stories out there! The other day I noticed that out of all of my chicks, the Barred Rocks seemed to be the first to catch on to things like eating treats from my hand and trying to "fly" out of their brooder for a look around. I wondered if anyone else has noticed more intelligent individuals or even breeds among their flock. I'd love to hear stories!
 
Gobbles the Speckled Sussex is smart, smart, smart! We call her "Gobbles the Explorer" because she was always the first one out of the brooder cage. She even managed to escape the run once.
Last night while I held her, she quietly studied the the yard beyond the run and the sky above the run. The look in her eyes said she was seriously plotting her escape!
 
I was just marvelling at one of my chicks - PeeWee. She has always been the smallest but the smartest. Yesterday, I was cleaning out the top part of their a-frame coop while the chickens were free ranging in the yard. PeeWee was standing next to me watching when all of a sudden, she ran back into the coop and up the ladder to peek at me from the inside. It was so cute and seemed spatially advanced for a chicken! She's a red sex link. PeeWee has always very curious and is the best at stealing treats.
 
In my experience, the geese and the pigeons are the smartest of any of the poultry we raise. They have a memory!

My Pilgrims have been at my house for about 2 years now, but they still remember my brother teasing them (honking, etc. - nothing cruel I promise) when they were at my parents house. They will chase him every chance they get. He thinks it is weird that they still remember him.
 
Funny you say that your BR are the smartest-we have a run of 11 laying hens - Minorcas, Black & brown Leghorns, & Barred Rocks. Out of all of them, the Barred rocks are obviously the most intelligent. The minorcas can't even seem to figure out how to go through a door, even when they want to.

One of the Rocks is the friendliest of the bunch, and she lines up first to be let out, but when it is time to go back in, she's also the first to go back in, running straight to & through the door, at the first "shoo". The minorcas are so dense they seem to run back and forth at the door, they can't figure out why it is open, but they want to get to the other side. One of the black leghorns almost always hops out to meet them and then goes back in to lead the minorcas through (so she gets some intelligence points as well)
 
My Barred Rocks are the smartest birds I have. My BR rooster will climb up the steps to the deck then walk around till he finds his girls below, then he jumps down the steps and runs to their location. I've always thought the BRs were the most intelligent. They are the most curious and friendly of all my birds, with one exception...my BBS Ameraucanas.
 
My 10 girls are only 7-9 weeks old, but they are pretty different. I've got 6 different breeds and the Rhode Island Reds catch on to everything fastest, with the Buff Orpingtons a close second.
 
This morning when I went into the room with the brooder I found one of my BR perched atop it. When she saw me, she very calmly hopped back down inside the brooder. It was almost as though she hoped I wouldn't notice. It looks like I'm going to have to get up earlier in the morning to outsmart my chicks!
 
I have a similar story to AmyBella's. My chicks are 7 weeks old and just spent their first night outside in the henhouse. After comforting them and saying goodnight, I went out the door, and as I was shutting it, I saw my little Australorp, Daisy, hurry a few steps back so she could see me through the little window in the door. It was so sweet! I was amazed at her spacial awareness. She is also top of the pecking order and most sneaky at escaping. Also, one of my little Easter Eggers, Claire, is awfully curious, and just quietly observes and seems to be studying things and people with an intelligent look. I don't have any stories yet that show her intelligence, but she just seems smart!
 

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