smartest breed?

[BigBlueHen53]

I don't remember if it's on the program The Zoo or The Secret Life of the Zoo, they use a whistle instead of a clicker. A whistle makes more sense to me because it leaves your hands free. It's amazing what they teach those wild animals to do! I guess I lack imagination, it just wouldn't occur to me what things to teach a chicken to do. Open their beak for inspections? Take pills on command? Lay on their backs for belly exams? Oh I know, give me a wing for trims!

 

[BDutch]

i will but i dont know how to add videos

Post a video on youtube or vimeo.
Make a copy of the url.
Then choose this icon

and ad the url.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

im target training and clicker training by attaching a clicker to a chopstick

I'd like to see that!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

One of my silkie hens is quite smart too.

 

[BDutch]

My experience is not a breed being smart, but some of the individual chickens.
I have and had several smart Dutch and also 2 Naine de Tournaisis that were smart.

I gave one Tournaisis a few mealworms once, after she jumped on a roost in the run. Next time I came around with snacks, she hopped on again. Looking like a child who wants some candy. I gave her a few out of my hand again. This way she teaches some other chickens to jump on the roost too.

But I also had a pyle Dutch who was quit dumb. She never jumped on the roost for snacks. And she had to figure out how to leave the run through a small opening every time she saw another chicken free range on the other side of the fence. She always tried to find an opening in the fence where there was none.

 

[BurbCoop]

One of our Easter Eggers, Sven, will jump the run fence and come to the back porch door to let us know when the wind blows the pop door on the coop shut.

One evening she tried to come through the dog door to let us know the pop door was closed.

When we go out, she will escort us back to the coop. All we have to do is open the pop door again and let her in through the gate.

She is also always up in everyone’s business - nosiest damn chicken

 

[BurbCoop]

Also agree it is the individual over the breed for the most part.

We’ve seen such an array of personalities and varying intelligence in our flock over the years.

Then you get one of those birds that is dumb as a box of rocks or has absolutely zero personality

 

[Cat Ballou]

I don't remember if it's on the program The Zoo or The Secret Life of the Zoo, they use a whistle instead of a clicker. A whistle makes more sense to me because it leaves your hands free. It's amazing what they teach those wild animals to do! I guess I lack imagination, it just wouldn't occur to me what things to teach a chicken to do. Open their beak for inspections? Take pills on command? Lay on their backs for belly exams? Oh I know, give me a wing for trims!

I used to have a house rabbit named Trixie. I trained her to lie on her back so I could trim her nails and do health checks.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I used to have a house rabbit named Trixie. I trained her to lie on her back so I could trim her nails and do health checks.

Come train my cat to do that ...

 

[Cat Ballou]

Come train my cat to do that ...

I wish I had done that with my cat instead of waiting until she was asleep.

With the rabbit I’d shower her with love and attention- telling her how pretty she was. I also had a quiet apartment. If there were kids or anything unpredictable she wouldn’t feel safe enough with her belly being exposed.