Is a chicken capable of thinking this way????.........

[Guitartists]

I have one Easter Egger that in it's first week my DH opened the windows one cool night to cool down the house (after I had went to bed) and the little gal got chilled and got very ill. I spent two days hand feeding her a gruel and spending a little extra time with her. Well, she made a full recovery, and I thought that was the end of it...... well.......

I moved the chicks out to the coop so they would have more room and she is fine. Well then I take some chickens to the farmer's market... I was going to take her, but when I got back to the house, I realized that I just couldn't bring myself to part with her (not that it would have mattered since I didn't sell a single chicken! LOL) so I put her in the brooder with the other little chicks and left her there until after the sale.

After the sale I took her back out to the coop. The very next day she was acting like she was soooooo sick, like she wanted to die! Fluffing up all of her feathers, being lethargic, standing in the sun not moving in this sickly pose.... I thought "oh no, she's sick again" etc..... so I brought her home for some extra care.....

She has been 100% A-OK since I put her in the brooder with the other chicks! Not a sign of anything wrong! No nothing!!!! I think she's faking it because she would rather be here than there. Is it possible that she is that devious?? Or even possible that she could want to be here sooo badly that it makes her sick to be at the coop? She's not a lap chicken or anything.... but she definitely prefers the company of the little chicks to the ones her age.

What do you think? What do I do with her? She can't live her life in the chick brooder...can she? LOL

 

[s6bee]

They say they are smart critters, but I'm not sure if she's that smart?

 

[MissPrissy]

We humans like to give anthropomorphic (the attribution of uniquely human characteristics to non-human creatures) characteristics to animals. I don't think she is capable of faking or even the thought processes of faking. Something is wrong if she is acting ill.

 

[Davaroo]

I'd not link that sort of thinking too closely with them. With chickens, it's more like,

"Oh look, FOOD! EAT!"

Prissy nailed it.

 

[d.k]

* Idk-- All I know is animals aren't as stupid as we tend to think the are. I once saw an egret who had learned how to use a 4-way crosswalk at a busy downtown intersection.

 

[Guitartists]

But that's the thing.... she isn't ill. She is only ill when I take her out to the coop. If was something physically wrong with her, it wouldn't disappear or resolve THAT quickly. I know that much. Maybe she is just unhappy at the coop. It's possible she is being picked on as she is smaller than her brood mates. But, I am at a loss as to what to do with her. As ill as she acts at the coop..... I'm afraid she would sulk until she died.

 

[sred98]

I have to say YES! I had a bantam roo my Grandfather gave me to take home when I was about 15. He was near death, after being attacked by the "head roo" and then, the rest of the flock. I took him home and put him in a large box (like a brooder) in my bedroom. This poor roo just layed around. I had food and water within reach, and he would lay on his side all the time. I would get him out carry him around, feed him extra treats, etc. As time went on, I noticed a feather across the room, not that big a deal, right? It could have floated over there...Then I noticed poo on a book! What the heck?!? One day I heard him practicing crowing and opened the door really quick, and he was across the room!

As soon as I opened the door he flew across the room and into his box, and layed on his side and whined. He tried milking it a little bit longer, but once he knew I was on to him, he straightened up. He was a great roo. We moved him to a large cage in the playroom and he followed me everywhere.

Sounds like your hen may have figured out she likes it better inside!

They are funny animals!

Shelly

 

[NYREDS]

Quote:
Absolutely correct. Chickens run primarily on instinct and conditioned responses [run to you when they see the feed bucket]. They have a brain the size of a kidney bean-not much chance of any higher ordered thinking.

 

[Davaroo]

Absolutely correct. Chickens run primarily on instinct and conditioned responses [run to you when they see the feed bucket]. They have a brain the size of a kidney bean-not much chance of any higher ordered thinking.

I was waiting for someone to haul out the worm can. It's open now....​

 

[ibpboo]

Yep, sounds like it! My silkie was very upset the other day when I tried to move her nest box from atop the bunny cage to on top of a chest. She was very distressed, so I had to put it back. I even waited till it got dark and put her in her box but she got out, IN THE DARK and tried to get to the old spot.