What's The "Smartest" Thing You've Seen a Chicken Do?

[GardenGal]

Makes me wonder...our big girl laid her first egg the very day we placed a plastic egg in the nesting box. Does that really inspire the chicken, or just help the human?

 

[Brody's Broodello]

Well don't know if it was smart or dumb luck. But had a hen once, go missing. There were feathers and a mess in the barn, like something(fox) chased her around. Well I followed the feather trail in to the woods behind the barn. Search for a while but no sign. But it began to snow, so the trail was lost. It snowed for two days, i thought Nugget was lost for ever. But the next morning when the snow stopped, there was tracks coming from the woods & Nugget had rejioned the rest of the girls up at the coops. She had feathers missing from her back, that had been ripped out in the attack. But she was smart enough the get laway from her attacker, hunker down & hide for safety. Then as the snow fell before dark, she stayed put until it ended (two days) then decided it was safe enough to come out of her hiding place to go home! Lassie has nothin on our Nugget!

 

[Hedera]

I teach my chickens to jump over and under one of our dog jumps. Thats pretty smart

 

[Evelle]

scratch'n'peck :

Quote:
So she saw you take her egg inside, or is this a story of chicken ESP?

no it had already was hatched and there was no way she saw me take her in she was locked in the coop at the time i took the chick in the house. and it wasnt churping eather. when i opened the door she went stright to the bed room inside the dog kennel that i had the chick in and sat on her so i decided i would keep both of them inside after that.. if shes smart enough to walk all though out my house to find her last remaining chick then she deserves to be with her right??​

 

[patricium]

One of my Red Star hens had to spend a few days in the kitchen recuperating from an injury, and she became pretty fond of the dog crate as a place to lay her eggs. (The little trooper kept laying regularly throughout her recovery.) After she was able to rejoin the flock outside, the next morning she was pacing near the garage door. When that didn't work out, she went around the house to the front door, and was trying to get in that way. When I figured out what she wanted, I took the crate outside for her, and she immediately settled in. So she remembered the crate, and knew that both doors lead to the same place. This same hen now has me trained - when she wants to be picked up for laptime, she tugs on my pant leg and makes a special sound so I'll crouch down and she can hop up on my leg.

The flock can recognize, from the other side of the yard, when you're trying to keep a chicken-treat or a people-snack hidden. And they know that a tiny change in the path I walk to the coop means they get to come out for free-range time. Otherwise, they don't bother lining up at the door.

The rooster knows to "call for backup" when somebody's on the wrong side of the fence. Though that's probably just "I'm worried", not "Come help!" He used to be the last to go into the coop at bedtime, waiting for everyone. (That's before the Reds started staying up late.) He'd do a circuit around the coop to check before going in.

Coincidentally, I have a 3-DVD set on chicken clicker training that I posted in the auction forum yesterday before I saw this thread. I didn't look at much of it, but it seems like it would be useful for those who want to try some formal training.

 

[ChickenCrazy4ever]

Quote:
And you didn't catch it on video camera???????? People these days.

 

[zzGypsy]

ok, my smart chickens...

my hen s prefer cat kibble to scratch and crumbles...

Chickens: they learned to come running and raid the cat food dish when I call "kitty kitty."

Me: feed the chickens first, THEN feed the cats, hoping to keep the chickens busy while the cats chow down.

Chickens: chow down on scratch for *precisely* the length of time it takes me to walk back to the garage and set the cat kibble out, then come dashing over and intimidate the cats off their dinner

Me: add a table to feed the cats on so it won't be at chicken level.

Chickens: study the cats eating the "chicken kibble". took them about a week but now they gobble up scratch, RUN over to the cat area and fly up on the cat feeding table, and intimidate the cats off their food.

Me: move cat food inside a large wire crate and once the cats are inside, prop the door closed to keep the chickens out while the cats eat. the cats can push the door open when they're done.

Chickens: currently stalking the outside of the cage trying to figure out how to open the door. we'll see how long THIS lasts.... <sigh>

 

[zzGypsy]

part 2: Smart and DEVIOUS chickens

one of my chickens is trying to steal my car.
ok, maybe not STEAL it, but sneak into it at any oportunity. she's discovered it's an occaional source of dead french fries ...
once she's done poking about for leftovers, she will sit on the steering wheel and look out the windshield.

I'm pretty sure she's plotting a drive over to McDonalds for more fries.

 

[zzGypsy]

part 3: Smart and SNEAKY rooster

so a few years ago I had this stunningly handsome rooster... looked exACTly like that rooster you see in old-time advertisements, and painted on produce crates and posters. only glossier. and fluffier. gorgeous!

anyway, he was also suffering from too much chicken testosterone because from the time he got his full feathers in, EVERY time I'd walk into the yard he'd run over and jump up, trying to spur me and run me back into the house.

I'm not one to take a lot of bullying from any animal, but he was too beautiful to cull, so I decided we were going to have a meeting of the minds on who was actually bigger and in charge of the flock. for about a month, every time I went out in the yard the first thing I'd do was march over to him and make him yield some ground. I'd chase him as far as needed to get him moving away from me instead of jumping up to fight me. he was impossible to catch, but after a month or so he started keeping his distance.

problem solved, I thought. but then one day I'm doing something in the yard and he sneaks up and jumps me from behind, getting in a full attack kick and leaving me with a bruise and a rip in a new pair of jeans. At this point I'm thinking seriously about changing one of the "o"s in Rooster to an "a" for Roaster...
but no, he's still stunningly handsome, and he does protecct the girls.

So it's back to chasing him down every time I see him, and more agressively and faster, like I mean to eat him raw.

once again, he starts keeping his distance... yet still, I have this feeling I need to keep looking around for him. So one morning I decide to track what he's actually doing and it goes like this...

I chase him up to the far corner of the yard, with him keeping maybe 30 feet between us. I start walking back across our 2 acres, and I'm checking over my shoulder every couple of steps. Every time I look at him, he's picking grass. but every time I look at him, he's another foot closer to me... and keep in mind I'm walking away from him.

it was like one of those cartoons where the cat burgler sneaks up on his intended victim... I'd turn my back and he'd take a couple of running steps in my direction but the moment I'd start to turn to him he'd drop his head and start to pick grass. I swear if it were possible, he'd have been whistling every time I looked. I could hear his little rooster brain saying "don't mind me, I'm just over here minding my own business, pickin' grass, pickin' grass..."

my hubby tells me the whole process was quilte entertaining... with the roo sneaking up on me then looking all innocent every time I turned to look at him. he was quick too, because no matter how quick I turned my head, I never actually saw him move.

After I figured it out I just learned to listen for his sneaking litlte rooster feet any time I was out in the yard. I'd wait till he'd get 10 feet away then turn and stomp in his direction... he'd run off like "oh sorry sorry, didn't mean anything by it!" then drop his head "just pickin' grass, pickin' grass..."

 

[GardenGal]

That's hilarious! I can totally picture the whole thing.