A bird is a bird is a bird?

[mom'sfolly]

I think that for regularly kept poultry, geese are the smartest. I don't think my hens could beat a cockatiel in an IQ test. Some days I don't think they could beat their coop in an IQ test!

But they are highly food motivated and trainable. Mine come when they are called (the cats don't), take themselves to bed at night and always know when I have grapes.

 

[Chicken Fruit]

Chickens are like walking, pooping houseplants.

Theyre not overly intelligent, but they are amusing and form quite the little bond with their people.

 

[Southernbelle]

That was really cool link, Ladyhawke1!

I've had parakeets, lovebirds, cockatiels and conures before but I find the chickens so much easier and overall satisfying than the exotic birds. For me, that is why an exotic bird will never be worth the $3000 anymore. I'll take the $2 chicken and laugh at how stupid they can be.

 

[GoldenSilverLaced]

Great link, Ladyhawke1. I read it awhile back when it came out, a bunch of my friends sent it to me

I've seen the chickens respond to stimuli in a predictable way, and change their behaviors based on what is happening around them. This is more than I can say for some people I know.

They aren't particularly skittish and learn rather quickly when food/treats/coming out of their coop or cage are involved. They don't get startled/upset/insane when I move their food around and they have learned their daily routine (go out, change food and water, bring their travel cage up to the coop run, let them out, herd them into the cage, pick up cage [they know to hop to one of their branches so they don't get their feet caught while moving] and move it to a grassy location.) They are used to hearing the bus, cars, lawn mowers, people go by and it doesn't bother them one bit. They are let out loose in the yard with me or fiancee in the evening, and they never go onto the sidewalk, they stay in our yard (we rent a house, and it doesn't have any fencing...sometimes they visit the neighbors). They like to search for worms in the mulch and sit on our arms and shoulders when we let them.

Dunch has learned, after only seeing me with the hoe twice, that it means worms. She ran up to me while I was holding it two nights ago and proceeded to investigate it...then she "helped" me by digging where I was gardening, and periodically examining the hoe. I was impressed, as it was only the third time that she had seen it and it was temporally separated from the other times she had seen it.

Maybe I'm easily impressed

 

[Wifezilla]

Dunch has learned, after only seeing me with the hoe twice, that it means worms.

It took my ducks seeing me ONCE with a shovel and accidentally digging up worms to associate garden tools with treats. I can't pick up a shovel or rake without them running towards me like mad to see if I uncovered any worms...LOL

I don't think birds are stupid as much as they are VERY NARROWLY FOCUSED

 

[ashley12]

Right now my chickens are standing in the pouring rain when they have a nice cozy coop they could be in.

Not very smart, but I love them and they are a great conversation piece.

 

[Feathered Wings]

Quote:
It took my ducks seeing me ONCE with a shovel and accidentally digging up worms to associate garden tools with treats. I can't pick up a shovel or rake without them running towards me like mad to see if I uncovered any worms...LOL

I don't think birds are stupid as much as they are VERY NARROWLY FOCUSED

I have found my Ducks way more intelligent than my chickens.

 

[GoldenSilverLaced]

I don't think birds are stupid as much as they are VERY NARROWLY FOCUSED

Good way to describe it.

I have found my Ducks way more intelligent than my chickens.

Interesting, I wonder if that is commonly experienced or not, I've never had or been around ducks.

Going back to chickens communicating, it occurred to me that any social creature (i.e. an animal that commonly lives in a group) would develop some form of communication among its members. Honeybees have a sophisticated (to us, considering that they are insects) set of signals that enable them to communicate with each other. Why not chickens?

We've been able to decipher more of honeybee communication than chicken communication, as far as I know.​

 

[Guinea Goonie]

Chickens are very limited. They know food, food and food.

They know where the safety is for night night.

They know that they are going to be doing a routine for the day.

They know they are going to breed and lay eggs and maybe even raise a few chicks.

Quote:

I have a blue and gold and a cockatoo (u2) and there is NO comparison in intellegence.

I have to LOCK my U2 up in her cage becuase she finds her way out.

I literally have a heavy duty keyed lock on her cage door and I take the key and put it up at night !!!

You can watch her watch my EVERY MOVE when I unlock her.

I seriously believe that if I kept the key in the lock she would find a way to unlock herself and get out.

 

[Wifezilla]

I seriously believe that if I kept the key in the lock she would find a way to unlock herself and get out.

We need to see that experiment....get your camcorder warmed up!!!