Would you say chickens are smart?

My chickens are very loving and affectionate, which I should think is a pretty complex emotion. They follow me around everywhere (and not for treats) and when I sit down they all jump upon my lap to be hugged. Actually, some of them are more considerate and instead of brazenly jumping on my lap they first tug at my clothes to let me know that they would like to be petted. However, they are very demanding. They will go to sleep if I keep stroking them, but if I stop petting them for a second they open their eyes and make annoyed sounds to let me know that I better keep stroking them!
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And also i can't really have more than one hen on my lap at a time because they peck at each other (would that be jealousy, which I guess is also a complex emotion?).

Another smart thing I've noticed that my rooster does:
My rooster is very aggressive, and I've read your supposed to show him who's boss. So i was chasing him around, trying to catch him. He has a little trick that prevents me from being able to grab him:
I have a circular fence around my peach tree that's about six feet in diameter. My rooster runs around and around it when I chase him! I noticed this, and it seemed to me kind of silly of him, but I later realized it was actually very clever, because I absolutely could not catch him!!!!!

And I read that chickens are as intelligent as some primates, understanding that hidden objects still exist, a concept human toddlers cannot even grasp! Chickens have good memories, being able to recognize over 100 other chickens and remember them. They have complex social relationships and have many different ways of communicating with each other both vocally and orally.
 
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This IS more complex than I'd originally surmised. They must be smart! They've taken a look at the world and their place in it and become disenchanted to the point where they have no choice but to leave by any means necessary.
 
I have not found mine to be dumb. I find mine are developing personalities of their own. I read about a chicken who could play the piano and do tricks. They used those chickens in a circus and found that chickens in general are very smart. A person on the flock management section told me she trains her chickens to come when called. Have any of you tried to train yours? I haven't. I'm too lazy.

So no I don't think chickens are dumb, just like I don't think my horses are dumb. I challenge any person to be as good as a horse when they have another person on back with nothing more to go on than spurs and a whip, and the horse has guess what they want.

A great old cowboy once said if someone says an animal is dumb, its sure sign that it they got outfoxed. How about this, we all pick out favorite chicken, and try to teach it a trick, I bet if we try our chickens will surprise us.
 
In the chicken world there may be smart to watch ours I think they are dumb as dirt and fun a heck.
 
do I think chickens are...? HAHGAHAHAAHAAHAAAHAAHAHAHAAHAHA
HAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAH
AAHAHA
AHHAAHAHAH
HAHAHAAHAAHAAHAHAHAHAAHAAHHAHHAHAAHAHAHHAHA
HAHAHAHAHH
HAHAHAAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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ours?...no, uhhh no, ours are the DUMBEST lot you ever seen!

TammyTX wrote:

Mostly, they look for ways to kill themselves.... roll

ours too, wich means mainly sticking their heads IN through the fencing on our chicken killing dogs kennel he goes into when they're out....then again....maybe they're taunting him, who knows.​
 
Two things.

They are probably smarter if raised by a broody than in a brooder, just because a mama seems to teach some survival skills.

And I haven't seen any evidence to convince me that any animal except us knows it exists.
 
I have a couple who know their names, like they will leave a bit of food & their mates and come out of the coop, just to see what I want. But mostly, they are pretty simple. That's okay. I deal with some very smart and untrustworthy people in my day-to-day life. I'd take a dumb chicken over a human scammer any day of the week!
 
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LOL that happens. Two of my RIR girls flipped a wide plastic bowl for treats about the depth of a pie pan over themselves and just laid out in the sun and died. If they would've stood up they could have freed themselves.
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My dad had a small OEGB roo named Pete when I was a kid. It was very tame and as far as chickens very smart. It would come by name. It would roost on a shoulder if you tapped it. The little roo also could be taken on walks around the yard. Often it would sit on top of the passenger seat of my dad's truck and go for a ride. He would roost on top of our roof over the porch at night waiting for us to come out of the house.

The difference was that the bantam roo was raised by humans and never had contact with any other chicken for years. It may be kinda like a parrot tames easier when it is alone. We tried to introduce him to chickens several times later and he was terrified of them.
 
If I was to pick a couple of smart things that our chickens do....hmmmm. Our rooster can hear the back door shut and if we don't come out to the coop/run within about 5 minutes, he starts crowing. At first I thought this was just a fluke, but he is consistent about it. They recognize the treat cup and jump up for it.
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Other than that, we have a couple that like to be petted, and one that jumps on your back when given the chance. She then pecks at your ears or your hair, so I don't know if that is intelligent or not. Maybe that's a sign of absolute brilliance in the chicken world.
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I don't think my chickens will be catching frisbees anytime soon, or learning how to unlatch the door to the coop, or enlisting the help of wild birds to make a break for the wild.

I think they do have different personalities though.
 

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