Do your chickens recognize your face, your voice, or both?

[NYREDS]

Chickens function mainly on instinct with a limited capacity for conditioning, that being their response to reinforcement such as mississippifarmboy's coffee can. Their actual intelligence [problem solving ability] is limited. People often mistake conditioned responses for intelligence.

 

[nuchickontheblock]

My chickens respond to their names and also know our morning routine. They wait patiently for me to do a couple of chores in the coop, knowing that food is on the way. They do recognize our voices and and will hide if strange people they don't know come into the yard.

Of course there is some conditioning involved here, and they definitely will come running if they hear the can of treats or see the container. They jump up and try to grab it. But all animals experience behavioral conditioning, even human beings.

Maybe it's because they are our pets and not our livestock, that we think they are smart. There are also only a few of them and they get lots of individual attention, so we know their individual personalities and indiosyncrasies; and they know us as well. When we return after a vacation they practically do back flips when they see us even though they have been fed and cared for by a neighbor.

 

[Nicole01]

LOL!!! My hens see me through my house WINDOWS!!! If I am in the kitchen and one spots me from the yard, they all zoom and run towards me! Of course I need to give them a treat of some sort.

All my girls are lap chickens. They all jump up on my lap when I sit down near them. Sometimes they fly up on my head or shoulders while walking. They recognize me amongst any other person. I'm number one their lives.. I also take care of them 100% of the time.

 

[teach1rusl]

Both. Some see me as "the treat lady," and that's their primary motivation to run over when I'm out. That happens whether I'm carrying something (possible treat/scraps) or empty handed.
But several (mostly my original girls) know their names. It's not the tone I use - it's the sound of their name. I can use the same tone and amount of syllables and they don't respond, but if I call a name "June Bug!?!" that bird will come running and will "talk" back to me. When I say "Daisy May" that bird always squats...lol...whether I'm 10 ft. away or right next to her. My lead hen (June Bug) will respond when my husband calls her name too, but most of the others don't respond to him unless he has FOOD.

 

[teach1rusl]

PS - I love reading others' experiences with "pet" chickens.

 

[EmtheFishLady]

Chickens function mainly on instinct with a limited capacity for conditioning, that being their response to reinforcement such as mississippifarmboy's coffee can. Their actual intelligence [problem solving ability] is limited. People often mistake conditioned responses for intelligence.

Exactly. Although you worded it much better than I.

 

[ChickChickChicky]

I have two different coops/runs in my backyard. When I go out back, the chickens are just like motion detectors... as I walk past the first run, the girls in the first run start "talking". As I move past the first coop they fall silent, but then as I approach the second coop the SECOND group starts "talking". When I move away from the 2nd coop, they too fall silent. I'm sure it's all food motivated, but I still think it's funny.

 

[centrarchid]

I can train mine to respond to specific names. The games and jungle fowl can be trained to move coverings sitting over food items like sacks. Other breeds I have seem lack that ability. They can distinguish me from other males as only I will they sit next to as they preen and sleep, some hens will even bring chicks up onto my lap where entire group will snooze. They do key in on food containers and can be trained to fly up into arms of total strangers. I am working on training some young birds to go to certain items in their free-range environment that contain food items they relish. They are to learn that such has food only if I say term used for a given type of item. If successful which I think it is, then they have the ability to not only distinguish human vocalizations and artificial structures but alo link concepts. They also have very good handle on resources in their home range and adapt quickly to changes. This adaptability is not evident in birds confined to relatively sterile coop or run.

 

[duckinnut]

Being the primary and generally sole caretaker,they do recognize me and come running even when I am not going to their fenced in area. But they totally ignore my DW except a few will wander over to see her if she is down by the coop. As far as voice recognition, absolutely. I was in the house and they will milling about and I shouted out the window 'what are you doing?' and they all ran over to the back side of the coop looking for me. My DW could not believe her eyes.

 

[duckinnut]

Chickens function mainly on instinct with a limited capacity for conditioning, that being their response to reinforcement such as mississippifarmboy's coffee can. Their actual intelligence [problem solving ability] is limited. People often mistake conditioned responses for intelligence.

Totally agree. Every morning the routine is the same, spread scratch,open pop door, out the door they go and then out the run door to to the grains.Like you said routine conditioning. But if during the day I bring something to them and throw it in the same area and some are in the coop or run, they cannot figure how to get out to that same area. But eventually they do but can't think or figure out the problem right away.