Kind of a complex question but...

[HappyClucker7]

The innate business linked by @R2elk explains. Yet you can see huge differences between brooder-reared and hen-reared chicks. I split clutches up every year and see how the hen reared birds learn places and how to get to them much better. They also learn which innate responses are best for a particular situation, like dealing with a predator. Do you sound an alarm or fly hard well up into a tree? Where are the best places to find abundant insect hatches so you do not have to look around randomly to find the them.

Now that you mention it, that is true. It took my brooder raised chicks quite long to realize that when they see a hawk, they have to hide. This was mostly because they were never really outside until they were put into their coop.
When my new chicks, being raised the my broody, heard the alarm call, the mom told them that they had to hide. Now, whenever the mom sees something that she thinks might be a threat, the chicks immediately run underneath something. They are only two weeks old, but they have already learned what to do in case of a predator.

 

[centrarchid]

Now that you mention it, that is true. It took my brooder raised chicks quite long to realize that when they see a hawk, they have to hide. This was mostly because they were never really outside until they were put into their coop.
When my new chicks, being raised the my broody, heard the alarm call, the mom told them that they had to hide. Now, whenever the mom sees something that she thinks might be a threat, the chicks immediately run underneath something. They are only two weeks old, but they have already learned what to do in case of a predator.

There are other responses to hawk that the hen seems to be best at initiating. With very young chicks the hen produces a sound causing chicks to fall to ground in place without moving. Another call says fly to hard to deep grass and hide. Yet another call says come to me and face threat. Despite being out with chickens a lot, I still have not been able to discern the differences between the calls because I immediately try to focus on the threat.

I assume the hen has innate system for deciding what calls to give or she thinks really fast.

 

[Kusanar]

It's nature + nurture.

Think about it this way. An incubator hatched and brooder raised chick is the "stock model" it has the instinct and a basic idea of what to do with it, but may not react the best way to each situation as it has not experienced it yet.

A broody raised chick is a "stock model" plus any "upgrades" that come from the mama. I would also venture to say a broody raised chick raised by something like a game bird that is very alert and aware of it's surroundings would get more or better "upgrades" than a chick that was raised by something like a silkie that may also not be super aware of things going on around them.

A chick will always be able to learn as long as learning is not fatal, and can then pass on it's learning to any chicks it raises, but a brooder raised chick has to start at 0 and level up whereas a broody raised chick also starts at 0 but then very quickly gets whatever "upgrades" the broody has, and then when it integrates into the flock and meets other adult chickens it can gain upgrades from them as well.

Did that make any sense?

 

[HappyClucker7]

It's nature + nurture.

Think about it this way. An incubator hatched and brooder raised chick is the "stock model" it has the instinct and a basic idea of what to do with it, but may not react the best way to each situation as it has not experienced it yet.

A broody raised chick is a "stock model" plus any "upgrades" that come from the mama. I would also venture to say a broody raised chick raised by something like a game bird that is very alert and aware of it's surroundings would get more or better "upgrades" than a chick that was raised by something like a silkie that may also not be super aware of things going on around them.

A chick will always be able to learn as long as learning is not fatal, and can then pass on it's learning to any chicks it raises, but a brooder raised chick has to start at 0 and level up whereas a broody raised chick also starts at 0 but then very quickly gets whatever "upgrades" the broody has, and then when it integrates into the flock and meets other adult chickens it can gain upgrades from them as well.

Did that make any sense?

That is a great way of putting it, and it makes sense. I just wonder how those instincts could be so well built into the chick that she can even manage without a mother. I guess I would have to ask a scientist about that though.

 

[centrarchid]

That is a great way of putting it, and it makes sense. I just wonder how those instincts could be so well built into the chick that she can even manage without a mother. I guess I would have to ask a scientist about that though.

This place crawls with scientists.

 

[diamondsilkies]

I had a similar question pop up a few weeks ago. A family member of mine is an entomologist (studies insects) and collects moths up in the mountains (about a 90-minute drive with much higher elevation). He gives the rejects to his flock. About 70% of the moths he brings are species that his birds would have never been exposed to prior to this, including one moth that is only found in that climate (which is not very chicken friendly). For some reason, none of his birds would even touch this one species of moth. They would happily gobble up everything around it but always avoid this one. Curious, we looked it up only to discover that it was poisonous. His flock consists of hen and brooder raised chicks, some from me and some from hatcheries, of all different ages and breeds. How they would all know not to eat this moth without even tasting it, I don't know.

My one guess was that the reddish color of the moth may have tipped them off, but they eat plenty of other red foods/insects with no hesitation. And most chicken products are colored red to attract them. We have yet to figure out how they would know about this one moth from a very certain area, but maybe it is instinctual (although it's strange that they would have instincts about moths that very few chickens would have encountered before). I've also heard that chickens have better color vision than us, so maybe this shade of red looks different to them?

 

[centrarchid]

Mine do not like insects that have red on them. At least at first. They can learn to eat them. Periodic Cicadas are ones they well consume after repeated exposure. They are also slow to consume large moths that have eye like markings. Once the moth moves the chickens get scared.

 

[HappyClucker7]

I had a similar question pop up a few weeks ago. A family member of mine is an entomologist (studies insects) and collects moths up in the mountains (about a 90-minute drive with much higher elevation). He gives the rejects to his flock. About 70% of the moths he brings are species that his birds would have never been exposed to prior to this, including one moth that is only found in that climate (which is not very chicken friendly). For some reason, none of his birds would even touch this one species of moth. They would happily gobble up everything around it but always avoid this one. Curious, we looked it up only to discover that it was poisonous. His flock consists of hen and brooder raised chicks, some from me and some from hatcheries, of all different ages and breeds. How they would all know not to eat this moth without even tasting it, I don't know.

My one guess was that the reddish color of the moth may have tipped them off, but they eat plenty of other red foods/insects with no hesitation. And most chicken products are colored red to attract them. We have yet to figure out how they would know about this one moth from a very certain area, but maybe it is instinctual (although it's strange that they would have instincts about moths that very few chickens would have encountered before). I've also heard that chickens have better color vision than us, so maybe this shade of red looks different to them?

That's really incredible. I wonder how they even knew that red bugs can be dangerous in the first place.

 

[Folly's place]

I wouldn't eat a red bug either! Or any bug...
Mary

 

[Kusanar]

That's really incredible. I wonder how they even knew that red bugs can be dangerous in the first place.

Red is nature's way of saying "I'm toxic, don't eat me." most animals understand this signal. Even humans used to go by that, one of the reasons it took forever for people to eat tomatoes, not only are they in the nightshade family and the vine is toxic, but the fruit is red.