How do chickens have good memory

[Girly White Silkie]

One time, I saw a chicken playing a piano but it was the keys lighting up

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I'm not sure what your question is...

But yes chickens do have a pretty good memory, IMO. That light up thing probably had nothing to do with memory though unless the bird played the keys afterwards with no light up. They can actually recognize up to 100 different faces. My birds clearly distinguish between friend and stranger. And they NEVER forget a treat. They learn and keep standard routines. And SOME can even learn to do tricks. One of my girls is smart enough that she ALWAYS stops to poo before getting up in our arms. And I've seen the ladies show compassion for and protect each other even. Chickens are SOOO much more than most people give them credit for. though I won't go as far as to say smart... still smarter than some people I've met.

People are also mistaken when they say a goldfish only has a two second memory. Are you kidding me? They never forget what side of the tank they get their feed on and such. And they are also interactive through the glass.

Hope you are enjoying BYC! I love Silkies, white is so pretty (comment about your user name).

 

[Girly White Silkie]

I'm not sure what your question is...

But yes chickens do have a pretty good memory, IMO. That light up thing probably had nothing to do with memory though unless the bird played the keys afterwards with no light up. They can actually recognize up to 100 different faces. My birds clearly distinguish between friend and stranger. And they NEVER forget a treat. They learn and keep standard routines. And SOME can even learn to do tricks. One of my girls is smart enough that she ALWAYS stops to poo before getting up in our arms. And I've seen the ladies show compassion for and protect each other even. Chickens are SOOO much more than most people give them credit for. though I won't go as far as to say smart... still smarter than some people I've met.

People are also mistaken when they say a goldfish only has a two second memory. Are you kidding me? They never forget what side of the tank they get their feed on and such. And they are also interactive through the glass.

Hope you are enjoying BYC! I love Silkies, white is so pretty (comment about your user name).

Thanks!

 

[RonP]

I have a bantam hen, now in her 12th year.

She is the last surviving bantam in my flock.

She is quite a bit smaller than everyone else, picked on by most. Not even allowed out of the coop, ever… chickens can be brutal…

As such, she has been a “pet” project.

I “tamed” her, took a while, by offering her whole corn treats whenever I entered the coop.

Fast forward a few years, I warned my son that should he ever enter the coop, be prepared for “Ginny” to fly from her roost and for him to allow a landing on his arm. Advised against letting her “miss him” as she would be difficult to run down and capture once out of the coop.

He called to tell me he entered the coop, saw Ginny stare him down, but not move.

Well, what’s wrong with Ginny??

I go to investigate, look past my son who is blocking the door. Ginny sees me, takes off and lands in my arms…

So, in my personal experience, chickens do recognize faces, have memories, and will give you many great ones.

 

[Girly White Silkie]

I have a bantam hen, now in her 12th year.

She is the last surviving bantam in my flock.

She is quite a bit smaller than everyone else, picked on by most. Not even allowed out of the coop, ever… chickens can be brutal…

As such, she has been a “pet” project.

I “tamed” her, took a while, by offering her whole corn treats whenever I entered the coop.

Fast forward a few years, I warned my son that should he ever enter the coop, be prepared for “Ginny” to fly from her roost and for him to allow a landing on his arm. Advised against letting her “miss him” as she would be difficult to run down and capture once out of the coop.

He called to tell me he entered the coop, saw Ginny stare him down, but not move.

Well, what’s wrong with Ginny??

I go to investigate, look past my son who is blocking the door. Ginny sees me, takes off and lands in my arms…

So, in my personal experience, chickens do recognize faces, have memories, and will give you many great ones.

Ok

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Like I posted before I once lost $5 trying to beat a hen at tic-tac-toe and yes the hen had a small built in computer that lit up a tic-tac-toe square that she then pecked to add an "X" in opposition to my "O". The hen also got a food reward every time she made a connect move. This to me is the exact opposite of what I would expect from an animal with a "good" memory. Now a hen playing Contract Bridge, poker, or even the child's game Old Maid would be extraordinary.

 

[Girly White Silkie]

Like I posted before I once lost $5 trying to beat a hen at tic-tac-toe and yes the hen had a small built in computer that lit up a tic-tac-toe square that she then pecked to add an "X" in opposition to my "O". The hen also got a food reward every time she made a connect move. This to me is the exact opposite of what I would expect from an animal with a "good" memory. Now a hen playing Contract Bridge, poker, or even the child's game Old Maid would be extraordinary.

Wow

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Like I posted before I once lost $5 trying to beat a hen at tic-tac-toe and yes the hen had a small built in computer that lit up a tic-tac-toe square that she then pecked to add an "X" in opposition to my "O". The hen also got a food reward every time she made a connect move. This to me is the exact opposite of what I would expect from an animal with a "good" memory. Now a hen playing Contract Bridge, poker, or even the child's game Old Maid would be extraordinary.

Now that would be really cool.

But that seems more like it involves brain processing power for the bird to understand what you are asking it to do.

They obviously have enough memory to know when something results in a good or bad result. And modify their behavior accordingly.

No matter how far they go out in my field they always come back and they had to learn and remember how to navigate my fences.

I would be curious to see how long they would remember someone who had been really close to them and say went away to college and came home. Not sure I would call it a "good" memory, as noted chickengeorgeto but they definitely do have a capacity for memory.