Intelligence or Instinct?

[noregerts]

My 9 month old giant Cochin, Sassy, is the youngest and the largest member of the 27 hen flock. She’s also near the bottom of the pecking order. We have a camera in the coop and a pop-door opener controlled by wifi so I watch the girls get off the roost in the morning and go out when I open the door. Sassy circles around and waits for the others to go out to the run and then goes over to the treadle feeder and enjoys it all by herself, she does this almost every day. Is she smart and using reasoning? They say chickens aren’t the brainiest of animal/bird kingdom but she seems to be using the brain inside that big fluffy head to secure the buffet for herself for a few minutes.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

My 9 month old giant Cochin, Sassy, is the youngest and the largest member of the 27 hen flock. She’s also near the bottom of the pecking order. We have a camera in the coop and a pop-door opener controlled by wifi so I watch the girls get off the roost in the morning and go out when I open the door. Sassy circles around and waits for the others to go out to the run and then goes over to the treadle feeder and enjoys it all by herself, she does this almost every day. Is she smart and using reasoning? They say chickens aren’t the brainiest of animal/bird kingdom but she seems to be using the brain inside that big fluffy head to secure the buffet for herself for a few minutes.

Isn't she a big beauty!
Could be smarts, instinct and/or self preservation - take your pick! LOL
My lower girls seem to do something similar, they hang out waiting for the others to become "occupied" with something else before they eat/drink.

 

[SueT]

Chickens are very intelligent. They can reason things out. Your Sassy is an example!

 

[My Pretty Pekins]

Chickens are actually highly intelligent. She has probably created a routine for herself!

One study was done on some hens kept for egg laying (industrial if you see what I mean) and the hens tracked all seemed to do the same thing each day - a different thing per hen. Isn't that odd?

 

[hispoptart]

What a beautiful girl she is! I say she has her reasons for doing what she does. Chickens aren't as brainless as some people think.

 

[aart]

Sassy, is the youngest and the largest member of the 27 hen flock. She’s also near the bottom of the pecking order.....Sassy circles around and waits for the others to go out to the run and then goes over to the treadle feeder and enjoys it all by herself,

Not surprising that the youngest is the low bird....how much younger is she?
Low bird eats last.
She's 'smart' to observe the pecking order,
otherwise she might get her butt beaten.

 

[rosemarythyme]

My Buff Orp does something similar. She gets bullied in the mornings by two younger EEs so she'll wait until I go inside the coop to clean up, and then follows me back inside and waits. She knows I'll bring in the pellet feeder shortly after, and while the rest of the flock is outside eating fermented feed, she can eat pellets without issue. Once the others get their fill outside, she'll head back out and eat there.

 

[noregerts]

Not surprising that the youngest is the low bird....how much younger is she?
Low bird eats last.
She's 'smart' to observe the pecking order,
otherwise she might get her butt beaten.

She’s over a year younger than the next youngest. I got her as one of six day-olds for a broody hen but 4 of them died the first night (got crushed by surrogate Mama I think) and the other turned out to be a boy who had to go live elsewhere. So she’s definitely a loner. Only a few of the others actually harass her now that she’s so big. She’s also just now coming into full maturity at 9 months, which I read is normal for the breed. She had zero sign of comb or wattles until about 8 months and last weekend was the first time she came near me and she is now squatting. I’ve added a pic of her beside a white leghorn for comparison.

 

[Chickassan]

Sassy is my kind of chicken .
And speaking from experience with the joys of a private buffet she's using 100% intelligence.
Instict would have her fighting like a ninny like the other hens.

 

[aart]

She’s over a year younger than the next youngest. I got her as one of six day-olds for a broody hen but 4 of them died the first night (got crushed by surrogate Mama I think) and the other turned out to be a boy who had to go live elsewhere. So she’s definitely a loner. Only a few of the others actually harass her now that she’s so big. She’s also just now coming into full maturity at 9 months, which I read is normal for the breed. She had zero sign of comb or wattles until about 8 months and last weekend was the first time she came near me and she is now squatting. I’ve added a pic of her beside a white leghorn for comparison.

Great details, definitely low bird circumstances.
I had a lone bird like that, only female in a 4 bird hatch,
she was lost when the boys went but she had a younger group that she hung out with.
Once she starts laying, she may rise in the pecking order.
Curious where she fits in the roosting order.
I bet if you watch she's the last to the roost and may even fill her crop after everyone else is up on the roost.