What is a chickens sense of smell like ?

[redhen]

Wheres the bird vets on this form?? Time to speak up...

I, personally, dont think they can smell... but what the heck do i know... nuttin'.
I DO think they can taste though.... not sure why... i just do.

That will be $50, please,... for my expert opinion...

 

[redhen]

Found this,..

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091231072647AAKlVdI

 

[centrarchid]

Time for a little research and if answer can not be found then, an experiment to test. Neither appear to have been done to support statements so far.

 

[bjash]

Quote:
I've fed mine straight-up habanero peppers and they ate them like they do berries.

Tell me again that they have a sense of taste...

 

[centrarchid]

See following links.

Support for sense of taste

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/an140


Support for sense of smell / oflaction.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/scienc...8a9437293501d99de1c400482ec2f023&searchtype=a

http://www.sciencedirect.com/scienc...cb1314c7fe322417136b81e30db4fd47&searchtype=a

 

[centrarchid]

Quote:
I've fed mine straight-up habanero peppers and they ate them like they do berries.

Tell me again that they have a sense of taste...

Easy. I do same for my dog and feed similar mess to my fish. Burns me but not those not having receptors for a particular chemical have no problems.

 

[featherbaby]

I've been told that chickens and other birds do not have saliva, enabling them to eat hot peppers without feeling the 'heat'. So if taste depends on moisture, they probably don't taste. However, I know mine like different textures. They have distinct preferences for crunchy over mushy and prefer seeds over cereal flakes. I also believe they can sense temperature in food. If I put a bowl of warm mixed grains next to a bowl of cold mixed grains they take the warm one every time. Same contents, one warm, one cold. They are very visual and see colors quite well. When I give them chopped fruit cocktail mixed with grains they go for the cherries first.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Quote:
I've fed mine straight-up habanero peppers and they ate them like they do berries.

Tell me again that they have a sense of taste...

Peppers plants in nature rely on birds for distributing their seeds. Birds don't have receptors that respond to capsaicin.

 

[centrarchid]

Quote:
What is source for "no saliva"?

 

[Gray Ghost]

Quote:
I've fed mine straight-up habanero peppers and they ate them like they do berries.

Tell me again that they have a sense of taste...

Easy. I do same for my dog and feed similar mess to my fish. Burns me but not those not having receptors for a particular chemical have no problems.

Um, my dogs definitely have capsaicin receptors. A common cure for dogs chewing furniture is to wipe furniture legs with Tabasco or other hot sauce. I remember one time my dog ate some leftover fried potatoes which had a lot of japapenos mixed in them, and spent the next 40 minutes licking a rock covered with seaweed trying to get the taste out of her mouth.

On the other hand, my chickens seem to like hot pepper seeds just as well as any other grain, so if they have a sense of taste, it must not include capsaicin receptors.

GG