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

[scratch'n'peck]

The thread has gotten 5000 views so far! I keep posting, because people seem interesting in reading the thread, and I enjoy each new story. Granted, we may not see "smart" behavior from chickens every day, but they do occasionally surprise us.

 

[Melanie 11]

A friend asked if he could keep some chickens at our house about a year ago. We had never had chickens before, so I was excited. He has a Ameracana roo (Brewster)& an ameracana hen (Betty) Betty was in molt and looked pitiful!!!! All of the hens picked on her. So my husband built a new tractor coop and we put them in for the first night. We left them to get settled in. When we went back to check on them the Brewster was snuggled up to Betty with his wing spread out and around Betty I could not believe what I was seeing

. I just never imagined that chickens showed emotions!!! At that time there were 8 chickens......I caught the fever and now we have 41.

Love this tread

 

[Chook-A-Holic]

Mine are quite comical at times...

If I'm scooping some sour oats out of the barrel, they are all crammed into the closest corner of the run trying to get as close as they can. But just let me go out the back door with a little white bottle(Valbazen wormer)in one hand and a syringe in the other, they cram themselves into the opposite corner screaming as if I'm going out there to murder them. Smart or not, they do recognize objects.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Wow, they really remember the Valbazen and the syringe.

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

X2 that they recognize objects. My JG LOVES banana. I mean, get out of her way and give her the banana, she love them so much.

She hates to be touched, picked up or even pet. But look at this. I don't think she thought DH was going to share his banana and she was going to make sure that he did.

 

[zzGypsy]

they're good at sounds too... not just the chicken calling voice, but my car's engine, my car door opening, the garage door opening, the kitchen door opening, the kennel door opening (where we keep the feed)... they're generally good at door sounds. The turkeys are on to the chicken calling voice and the kitchen door... they're learning!

 

[nuchickontheblock]

I have a hen who has impaired vision and at the bottom of the pecking order, so we try to feed her extra treats when we can. One morning when the other hens left the coop, I kept her in so that I could give her some food, without the others stealing it from her. It took her only that one experience to figure out that this was a good plan. Now every morning she hangs back and won't go out until she has been hand fed some corn, boss or worms. This is our routine!

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Quote:
Great Spice Girls videos, I think I will share some banana with my chickens. I also checked out their nest box drama video that was lined up behind it, which is quite an example of clear chicken communication.

 

[jetskier506]

Smartest like most human or smartest like wisest?
My wisest was to run from that dog one time.
But the most human was one can sit, stay, and come here. Now all I have to do is figure out this potty training. Any one ever had luck? My efforts get mocked at the thought

 

[guanyin]

16 years ago, when my first Japanese fantail hatched a brood of 12, after about 3 days, she roosted with them at night in the branch of a giant sugar maple about 12 feet off the ground. I never figured out how she got them up there- they certainly couldn't fly! The next generation ( fantail/buff Orphinton x- you figure-) one of the mommas tried the same thing in a much smaller plum tree. The first nite an owl took one of the chicks, so she raised them in the barn. Every generation from that first hen has raised her chicks as high as she can get them. This year I had terrible problems with my hens getting over the 5 ft fence and eating everything in the vegetable garden as it was sprouting. I put another 3 ft of plastic chicken wire on top of the existing fence and I clipped a lot of wings - which I usually don't do because I think it prevents them from escaping from foxes and hawks- and thought the problem was solved. HA!
The next day I am watching one of her descendants CLIMBING the fence and the others were watching! Then one by one they all started. I solved the problem for a while by letting the netting hang in a floppy way so that they had no purchase when they tried climbing.
Dumb clucks? I don't think so....