Are you smarter than a chicken? (Stories of amazingly smart chickens and their proud owners)

[boyd2011]

I submit to you that we may own the smartest rooster ever! We have four breeds in separate coops and runs, but renetly “rescued” a full grown Buff Orpington Rooster from a family who had an extra roo. “Rusty (so named by my 5 year old son) is as gentle as a kitten. He prefers to eat from your hand tather than off the ground like some common bird. Since coming to our home he has roosted in our brooder hutch, which is just big enough for him and maybe one hen. We don’t shut the door and he comes and goes as he please. He free ranges all day and visites his friends in all the othe pens. He seems to prefer the EE’s over even the other buffs….so here is his amazing tale.

Last night about 8:45 my husband heard something knocking at the door. When he went to the door there stood Rusty. Our first thought was he never comes up on the porch even when we are sitting out, so what is wrong? My husband picked him up and went to see if there was a predator. Seeing nothing he took him to his roost. The wind had blown the door closed and Rusty couldn’t go to bed. He had come the door, knocked and in his own way alerted us to the problem. My husband put him in the coop and then we stood amazed at what surely you will agree is the smartest chicken ever!?

TRUE STORY! Now I hope others will add their favorite “smart chicken” stories.

 

[7L Farm]

Smart boy you have. I can add a story. Here goes at the time I had 10 red chickens which were hens & one big red roo. Well, a freind was down to one Dom. pullet & I told him you can't just have one chicken. So, he gave the pullet to me. I brought her to my farm & introduced her to my flock. O lordy she was a different color & the flock didn't like her. I got lucky though because the roo fell in love with her. Well, they free ranged & the poor little dom would hide out all day in the woods by the coop. I would bring her treats & take her with me on my golf cart. We became good freinds. Shes my favorite. Anyway, dusk would come & the roo would make sure everyone was up on the roost. He would jump up there as well. The dom would still be hiding in the woods.
I guess the roo could count because he knew they were all their but the dom. The roo would get off the roost & go to where the dom was & start persueding her to come with him. He talked her into the coop & up on the roost. This went on forever it seemed. I would have to get up early every morning & bring her food & water & place it on the roost because I wouldn't let them range till 9 AM & she wouldn't get off the roost because the others would torment her.
Finally, after a year of this they finally figured out that the dom was there to stay & she has been with me for about two years now. I now have three coops & 47 red chickens & 1 dom. I had to get rid of the roo that helped her because he kept trying to attack me but he was replaced & everyone is happy.

 

[gootziecat]

My buff Orpington pullet was my favorite large fowl. She would run headlong for me whenever I was spotted. If I sat down, she would come up and talk to me, maybe hop on my foot or want to sit in my lap. When she started laying, she would come up on the porch and want in the house. Meaney that I am, I didn't let her in. But as luck would have it, there is a little dog house on the porch. So she would go in there to lay her egg. When she was done, she'd come to the door and make her "I laid an egg" sounds until I appeared, checked the dog house for an egg, and showed her it had been found. Happy, she would join the others. She was killed by a fox less than a week ago. She was only 5 months old. I still miss her every time I go outside. I can tell you the buff Orpingtons have left an indeible impression on me.

 

[boyd2011]

Follow-up. Rusty has now started coming to the door each night to be "tucked in", even though most nights the coop door is open. He just seems to need/like a little petting before bedtime...but don't we all?

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

Oh, I'm so very sorry for your loss. BO's hold a very special place in my heart too. If I could only have one kind of chicken, it would be BO's.