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

[scratch'n'peck]

Penny even looks smart. She knows how to pose for the camera.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

I am not going to let this thread die, but my own chickens have not done anything strikingly smart recently, so I went to search for another entertaining "smart" chicken story.

Here is a link: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=319673

 

[86121]

I taught mine to sit!

 

[yankeedoodle300]

Mine will Be chickens, Ain't that Smart Enough?

 

[gryeyes]

Paprika keeps sneaking into the house to lay her egg on the base of the cat "tree." I put a covered kitty litter box with shavings inside (I use about three of these IN the coop) on the front porch, hoping Paprika will use it instead of trying to lay her egg in the house. Molly uses it. When Molly sneaks into the house, she is just investigating things.

When Carl, the dominant rooster saunters - no sneaking for him! - into the house, he is also just surveying another part of what he considers his domain.

Three smaller members of the flock roost in the rafters of the coop, which is a transmorgrified garage (17 x 20 feet). Alice Sebright started it, Josie White Leghorn joined her, and now Angel, a bantam EE is roosting up there at night. Lots of rafter space, no shouldering each other for "the best spot."

Several of the chickens will jump up and yank on branches of the apple tree to knock down apples for snacks.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

It has been a few days since we have had a smart chicken story added to the thread so I had to go looking for one. Here is a funny one from 2008: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=97359

 

[cat1994]

Quote:
x2 same with one of my roos lol he was one of the smart ones

 

[Desirai]

I read every single post in this thread, I think it is amazing what some of your chickens do!

I don't have any chickens currently.

When I was 8, I bought a chick from a flea market for $1.50 and named him Mr. Peepers. (although he may have been a she)

I didn't know how to take care of chickens, so he only survived for about a week.

Well, we kept him in the house and I would cluck and he would follow me around the house from room to room, and he would sit in my lap and when I clucked he would come under my chin, get in my hair, everything.

Even though he died, I'm sure that week was the best week of his life, since he probably spent the first few days in a box with 1000 other chicks being smushed and stomped on and stuff..

Let's see, my neighbor has chickens. I've visited once to get some hands on interaction time with her chickens and see her coop and stuff. Her house is on a hill, and the chicken coop is down at the base of the hill. It isn't a sharp hill, but it is a dip.

Between the chicken coop and the back of the house, the chickens know that is the "danger zone" so they will come as a group, carefully coming out of the coop, then ZOOOOOOOOOM up the hill to the safety of the trees/bushes/porch.

I LOVE watching those little fat birdies run!

 

[GardenGal]

One of our BR mixes, Dixie, can escape out of the smallest gap in their tractor. The other day my husband and I were eating lunch and we heard the egg song coming from the coop. Dixie had escaped the tractor, traversed the yard, gone around the house, into the run, up the ramp, into the coop, laid her egg, and was heading back to the gang!

I find it's surprisingly hard to outsmart chickens.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Speaking of escape artists, here is a thread with video of a clever rooster: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=6162276

Keep your eyes out for smart chickens, folks, then come to this thread and share the story!