Have you ever had a group of chickens that's just smarter than the rest?

VOCAL REPERTOIRE OF THE RED JUNGLEFOWL: A SPECTROGRAPHIC CLASSIFICATION AND THE CODE OF COMMUNICATION NICHOLAS E. COLLIAS

http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Condor/files/issues/v089n03/p0510-p0524.pdf

I stripped out all but the essentials, however, every growl/whine/purr/etc. is described in extensive detail (in context-illustrated by sonograms) in the linked paper. Collias made his observations of, and performed his sonograms on, the flock of Red Jungle Fowl that used to be maintained at the San Diego Zoo.

1. Rising pitch (pleasure) vs. falling pitch (distress) (chicks)
2. Clear tones (attract) vs. white noise hiss (repel)
3. Low pitched (attract) vs. high pitched notes (repel)
4. Brief notes (attract) vs. long notes (repel)
5. Soft notes (attract) vs. loud notes (repel)
6. Slow to fast repetition rate of notes (increased stimulus intensity)
7. Regular to irregular repetition of notes (increased stimulus intensity)
8. Gradual onset of call (set to respond) vs. abrupt onset of call (startle)
9. Steady tones (secure) vs. wavering tones (disturbed)
10. Consistent number of notes (stereotyped) vs. inconsistent number of notes (flexibility)

Specific calls (see paper for details, i.e., chevron calls/intergradiation of calls), each is comprised of signals (vocalizations) appropriate to a given context.

1.Chick calls expressing insecurity or security
2. Attraction calls of hen to chicks
3. Attraction calls of a cock to hens
4. Calls of well being or contentment by adults
5. Adult calls of mild disturbance
6. Warning calls announcing a predator on the ground or perched
7. Warning announcing a flying predator
8. Aggressive calls
9. Crowing

When our girls were still pullets on the `learning curve' I observed the following behavior (increased chance of advantageous foraging by means of `delay' of gratification, i.e., `malice aforethought'). One pullet had managed to take down a large, `armored, Tree Boring beetle. As it worked to tear off the wing covers and get at the `meat', two other pullets, nearby, continued to pick at vegetation and made no move to `share' the `bugged' pullet's feast. When that pullet finally made her way through the beetle's shell, the other two pullets rushed her and one made off with it, and the chase was on.

Collias makes reference to something similar in vocal signaling:

In experiments with domestic fowl cocks exposed to a hen who could not see the food automatically presented to the cock, the rate and number of food calls given by the cock increased with the preference ranking (palatability) of the food. A hen was more likely to approach the male when he was calling than when he was silent after food was presented to him (Marler et al. 1986a). A cock would food-call significantly less with no audience than in the presence of a hen; he would even food-call to a hen over non-food items especially in the presence of a strange hen (Marler et al. 1986b). Since a cock often refrains from ingesting a food item after calling a hen to it, just as a hen does after calling her chicks to food, a possible inference is that the behavior is intentional and implies that the caller plans ahead of time to share the food with the receiver (Marler et al. 1986b).

The observations of behaviors (vocal or otherwise) that might suggest a degree of `delay' of gratification - `planning', could indicate a certain `presence' of `mind' that is not often considered part of the lowly chook's armamentarium; though some rooster's penchant for attacking from ambush is well known and reported in the forum, weekly. That there also exists a certain `elasticity' in vocal signaling owing to `intergradiation' is also curious (not absolutely required for survival). If not stressed, a foraging flock's `yap' exhibits chook `sophistication' (and, no, athropomorphism need not apply).

Now, insofar as the `species' making the observations, and doing the judging? I'll just link to the thread regarding the `fear' ot the tic-tac-toe chicken...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/610286/this-american-life-a-chicken-expert-witness


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Yes, ivan3.... i have been closely observing my flocks behavior for several years now.... and i agree that they are a far more developed species than most give them creddit for. After watching my hens with their clutches, and my roos with their hens..... i have learned a large part of their "language" and it is always amazing to see how advanced they really are.
 
I agree about the strange intelligence some chickens possess. Our are clever, clever girls. We can see them working things out, I am talking "velociraptor smart". I have one hen that insists on living with the goats in their stall. How she alone manages to escape a 6 foot tall, chain link enclosure when the others stay put, baffles us. And, before her complete defection, she led a small revolt as alies of the ducks to break the inner door between their yard and the vietnamese pot bellies we have. I have seen them share nesting duties with said ducks. It is so fun to watch! This link is to a short clip of this co nesting behavior. This was the changing of the guard, so to speak.

Sonja Twombly of http://lallybrochfarms.blogspot.com/2012/05/it-takes-village-whether-you-want-help.html
 
I agree about the strange intelligence some chickens possess. Our are clever, clever girls. We can see them working things out, I am talking "velociraptor smart". I have one hen that insists on living with the goats in their stall. How she alone manages to escape a 6 foot tall, chain link enclosure when the others stay put, baffles us. And, before her complete defection, she led a small revolt as alies of the ducks to break the inner door between their yard and the vietnamese pot bellies we have. I have seen them share nesting duties with said ducks. It is so fun to watch! This link is to a short clip of this co nesting behavior. This was the changing of the guard, so to speak.

Sonja Twombly of http://lallybrochfarms.blogspot.com/2012/05/it-takes-village-whether-you-want-help.html

Velociraptor smart
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Whenever people ask me "How can you eat your chickens?" I tell them "If they had a chance, you'd better believe they'd eat me."
 
Well my original group is smarter ..they know I always give them great snacks. The new ones act like chickens!!!!
 
My blackstar hybrid, Penny, is 4 years old and has been my boss hen for that long.

When it's getting toward dusk, she comes to the patio door and looks for me. When I see her there, I accompany her and her entourage down to the coop and feed them, pick up any poops and lock them in for the night.

I was in the garden when she came to the door tonight and my husband tells me she stood on the step and looked to me and after I didn't come she started pecking loudly and rapidly on the window. LOL I of course stopped what I was doing and focussed on my girls. She knows how to get what she wants when she wants it.
 

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