"are chickens really smart?"

[mtnhomechick]

When I call " SUPPER" they come running from every direction. I let them free range for an hour or two before they get fed at night. I think that's smart.

On the other hand, if a few are on the other side of the run and can't figure how to get around to the DOOR side......then I have to send my dog to run them in. In that case the credit goes to the dog!!!

 

[PoultryPedia]

I once gave up on some young chickens who resisted coming in from a hard-to-access run during a drizzling rain. I figured they should come in when they got cold. Three were still out & dead the next morning. Very, very, very sad.
I would not count on chickens to come in on their own when it becomes cold if they don't otherwise. They seem to continue to mostly roost where they're accustomed to roosting. To change their habit, you have to force them to roost in a new location for several nights, make sure they are comfortable both entering & exiting the new roosting area, and then watch to provide any needed follow-up relocation reinforcement for a few nights after that.
Best wishes.

 

[waynesgarden]

Henry'schickens :

Good post Wayne. How come the chickens won't get out of the middle of the road when a vehicle is coming?

Even though we have a lot of yard and gravel driveway they still go down to the road and don't move fast when someone is coming.

Death wish, maybe? Or maybe they aren't as bright as we'd like them to be. Or, like many drivers I've seen, maybe they think "Yes, actually, I do own the road."

Speaking of not too bright and vehicles approaching and Golden Retrievers, a friend's golden didn't seem to think getting back away from the train tracks was a very good idea and the ladder from a moving box car caught him on the head, knocking him senseless though it was very hard to notice any real difference. A few month's later, he was again knocked senseless by a moving train at the same spot. I commented to my friend that the odds of the same dog getting hit by a train twice at the same spot must be astronomical but she said that was only because I didn't spend enough time with a Golden Retriever.

Wayne​

 

[ScoobyRoo]

 

[tygab]

Quote:
yeah, mine do this sometimes. they work themselves into a tizzy trying to figure out how to get back to their buddies, while I just sit there and think, but they used the door to get OUT!

I don't think they are dumb, but I do think they get... momentarily distracted by everything.

 

[Dash Riprock]

Quote:
yeah, mine do this sometimes. they work themselves into a tizzy trying to figure out how to get back to their buddies, while I just sit there and think, but they used the door to get OUT!

I don't think they are dumb, but I do think they get... momentarily distracted by everything.

When I was in college it was great "Living in the moment"

. I was young, dumb and (in my mind) INDESTRUCTIBLE

. I finally grew out of that belief

. My chickens, however are young,dumb and live in the moment, after moment, after moment....ad infiniteum

. Sometimes it good to be dumb, but you better be tough. If you are dumb and weak the herd will cull YOU.

Mine are not all dumb or all smart, but they are all SPECIAL

and by SPECIAL I mean that their school bus has a short wheel base.

Dash

 

[debilorrah]

an, mine go in when the roo tells them to. Seriously, the sun starts setting and he crows and they all go in single file. I have said many times I have stepford chickens.

 

[Dash Riprock]

Quote:
LOL.. It appears that I am my girls Roo. When we are in the backyard and it is bed tiime....I walk toward the ladder and the Drag-Ass girls begin to immediately "kennel up". If I am busy, then the lead hen will raise enough sand that the stragglers will finally succomb.

Dash

 

[Weasleymum]

I'm actually kind of impressed with my girls so far... maybe because my expectations were set very, very low to begin with. They always get back into their house for the night, so all I have to do is come close the door. Once DH couldn't get the door shut, and they got all excited since he was banging around on the door and swearing. They all jumped back out, but because it was so dark they couldn't get back in... hardly their fault, though.

I do think it's kind of silly that they'll walk all over the food tray.

 

[PoultryPedia]

Quote:
Try feeders like the rabbit-pellet feeders. Helps prevent feed dispersal (with its attendant rodent browsing) and fostering of disease via poop-contamination. Really saves on the food bill & work!

Back to main topic, I agree that chickens are very in-the-moment. They can be very intelligent at in-the-moment thinking, but extended trains of thought do not seem to much be in their make-up.