They really are some smart mofos

[Palmettoguy]

So while I'm in the process of building my coop, I'm still able to house them in it. It's located in front of my barn while the run is behind the barn.
For the past week, I hand carry the ladies (8wks old) to the run and then back to the coop before it gets dark.
Last night, the wife and I were sitting by the run talking and I didn't notice how dark it had become.
Within a min or two, they all started chirping and lined up along the fence...ready to be carried away.
I have 2 hens that don't like to be carried and they are always the last to be gathered.
I grabbed the 2nd to the last one and as I started walking back, around the corner comes the last one! She flew over the fence and came running towards me. I said screw it, let's see what she does....
She ran right over to the coop door and waited for me to open it! I opened it and I'll be damned if she didn't fly her little butt inside! The wife watched the whole thing, laughed, and said I trained them well, lol!
Obviously I can't take any credit for it though.

 

[sourland]

Anything to keep you from touching her.

 

[yakitori]

You'd be surprised! My 3 week old LF chicks taught themselves to go back to the coop before the bantam momma hen figured it out. Momma is a princess and even today was looking for my arm to jump on so she could get her free transport to the coop, lol.

This was yesterday

 

[Kennas_Kritters]

My chickens do this to! We have 5 acres so when I tell "BEDTIME CHICKENS!!" they all coming running from different directions and hop up in their coop one by one. They are super smart! My chickens also know whenever I say "Who wants it?" that means I have a bug or a treat for them and they come a running! Almost all my chickens know how to sit, stay and speak! No I'm not joking.... my chickens are like humans.

 

[Ascholten]

Oh yes but it's like a yin and yang. One minute they do something really intelligent, generally when they are being sneaky or naughty they'll come up with brilliant ideas, then 20 seconds later, do something as dumb as a stump and you wonder how it managed to survive as long as it did.

I don't try to make sense out of it anymore, just smile at them and hope that their brilliance, or tardliness doesn't get them killed one day.

Aaron

 

[aart]

Creatures of habit....and you trained them to go in the coop at dark.

 

[Palmettoguy]

Oh yes but it's like a yin and yang. One minute they do something really intelligent, generally when they are being sneaky or naughty they'll come up with brilliant ideas, then 20 seconds later, do something as dumb as a stump and you wonder how it managed to survive as long as it did.

I don't try to make sense out of it anymore, just smile at them and hope that their brilliance, or tardliness doesn't get them killed one day.

Aaron

Lol, no doubt. I have an opening in the run that I cover with chicken wire. The opening is about 20" wide. I'll walk them from the coop over to the opening and 2 or 3 will go in while the rest of them run along the fence trying to figure out how to get inside! They probably run the length of the fence 15x before one finds her way in, then the rest act like they didn't just watch her go in that way and they look for new openings!

 

[Ascholten]

Mine have done that, ill put food down they'll be eating, then run back into the coop walk to almost the food then run in circles for 5 minutes trying to figure out how to get back out, when they just walked IN.