And they say chickens are dumb... Please! LOL

[stormylady]

This is My girl Emerald,

I went out this morning to feed and water and as Usual, Emmy had let herself out of the run, I put her back in the run, and went in to the house real quick for a cup of coffee went back out and and she was out again I didn't see how she got out, because we thought we fixed her excape route the other day, hmmm apparently not! LOL
Any way shes gotten into the habit of going to a little wooded area and laying her eggs there, so she is pretty determined, I went and got her and put her back in the pen, I got in the car and sat there and watched how she was getting out now.

She is hopping up on top of the dog house that is in the pen for shelter when their outside if they want to use it, from there she is hopping up to the top of the 6ft tall chainlink fence pen, Scooching the 20 ft length of it til she gets to the hen house, hops up on that then goes across that to the opposite side and hops down 8 ft to the ground and goes on over to her "special spot" to lay.

I go get her and put her in the silkie Pen, that has a Vinyl 4 foot fence around it, but some reason she can't seem to get over it??? LOL

So I watched her, she jumped up on the Silkie House, spent about 10 bouncing up and down trying to gauge the distance to the top of the 6ft fence before she finially decides she can make it, and makes the leap to the top, scooches all the way to the hen house and runs all the way across flys off the edge and makes a mad dash for her laying spot!

I went ahead and let her lay her egg in the wooded area so she could get that out of her system, afterwards I got her and went and put her back in the silkie pen while I went into the big pen and moved the dog house so she couldn't use it to get out. While I was doing that, she jumped back up on the silkie house, back up to the Big pen fence, scooched just far enough this time to make sure she was going to land outside of the little green fence around the silkie area! (her laying spot is on the opposite side of the yard) so she knew exactly where she was going!

I can't help but wonder, that she went through all that planning to get to her special spot to lay,and when she just wanted out to free range
she knew to just go far enough along the tall fence so she could land outside of the silkie pen, why in the world would she not just hop the little green fence?? It just blows my mind sometimes!! She is Hilarious!

 

[willowbranchfarm]

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Wow she really likes her little egg spot. Thats really funny. And chickens are smart.

 

[bigstack]

LOL Too funny!!!

I have a hen that will actually climb the 6ft fence!
She jumps up, grabs the wire and holds on! beak and feet!!!
She will flap her wings and basically walks up the fence until she gets to the top.
Then pops up and over! Heads to the pine straw in the edge of our woods. LOL

 

[stormylady]

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I can just picture that in my mind

! Determination!!

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

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I have Silver Laced Cochins who do that.

Smart girl Emerald

Personally, I think chickens are just as smart as humans, or humans can be just as dumb as chickens

maybe it is a bit of both.

 

[gryeyes]

Emerald is very clever!

I watch my chickens a lot, and I have some I swear I can see think. They give speculative looks at things, then do something so startling but also really smart.

Has anybody else noticed that chickens have real trouble with the concept of backing up? If they get into a corner or confined space (which mine seem to do quite a bit) they cannot simply back out; they have to turn around in that cramped spot before they can exit. They go through a whole bunch of contortions to winnow their ways out of those spots.

Right now some of my girls have created a little nest area where even the white leghorn has trouble turning around inside. But, determinedly, several hens take their turns to sneak in that spot and lay their eggs. Each one looks very carefully at the space, the boxes piled up around it, and try to figure out the nest way to get back there.

Now, if somebody was broody back there, this would make more sense to me. But they're just laying there, like a cache of eggs nobody feels like brooding.

Chicken stuff. They're so amusing!

 

[stormylady]

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LOL I know, I say all the time that I can see the wheels turning in her head, when she is up to no good, trying to be sneaky!
I think there so fun to sit back and watch! They all have there own little personalities and quirks! Like when I said that Emmy lets herself out to free range, if I let her stay out, at the end of the day she comes to the back door and gets me to let her in the human size door on the coop, then when I come out with the key she runs for the coop and waits for me at the door to let her in ! But she absolutely refuses to go in the pen gate like everyone else...

Like you said that your girls stand there and try and figure out the best way how to get back there to lay eggs in there secret nest! , Its so neat that you can stand there and watch them figure something out ! And the two posters that have chickens that actually climb a fence, You know to me thats something that I would think a parrot would do, not a chicken but you know that had to take some thinking on there part. LOL But they keep on proving that they are not Dumb! LOL. A lot of folks would say that they don't have forethought..... hmmm I beg to differ with em. A couple of years ago I might have agreed with them but not anymore. LOL

 

[Sassafras]

I think chickens have been treated like just food for so long no one took the time to pay attention to their behavior.

We had a window put in the coop this summer and one of my favorite hens was looking at me from outside, cocking her head. I can just imagine her saying to herself "I see you..hey, why can I see you??"

 

[hockmangirl]

Oh, Chickens are SO not dumb! Ha ha ha! I've learned that after having them for just three months! And reading this is terrifying me

and also making me extremely grateful I put a roof on my chicken pen (we have a big hawk population here and I wasn't taking any chances with my girls, neighbors had already lost some). They are already standing at the top of the lounge chair I keep in the pen and trying to figure out how to get out the top. Naughty chickens!!

 

[indi]

Lol, for all the posts, LOL!!!
I don't know what chickens you guys have mine have yet to realise windows cannot be flown through!!!

My other chicken is quite clever!