wow chickens smarter than i thought

[birdbrain2]

i have a coop and run that are one unit and share the same roof. i usually let them out into secondary run when i can't be out to supervise (watch for dogs). so apparently the wind blew the main run door shut and kept one hen from going in to roost at dusk. i was inside asleep on the couch, when i heard a cackle from the back porch. so i wake up and there is a chicken at the door. she jumped a 6 foot fence (never happened before) walked up the backyard (about 250 ft) and came to let me know she wanted to go to roost with the others. she had to know i was in there because i opened the door and she just walked in like she lived here. i have a little more respect for my little flock.

 

[Hoosiermomma]

And who said chickens aren't smart?

 

[Tala]

Mine are drawn to the house at dusk because of the light coming out the windows. They also tried to start roosting on the back porch rail under the motion and dusk activated porch light over the back door. I've checked the roost at night to discover the rooster missing, and I've found him more than once up on the deck steps (out of sight from the back yard) again I think it's because of the light over the back door.

I think that they're just drawn to the place that is the lightest after the sun goes down. I don't think they're trying to find me, they just want to be where they can see.

 

[birdbrain2]

i do believe they are drawn to the light, but i fell asleep before it got dark so i had not turned any lights on yet.

 

[BirdMom]

They totally are. Our roo, when we first got him, was kept separate from the hens, and we put him in the barn at night. One evening after dark, we had forgotten to open the barn door for him, (he was free-ranging) and then we heard a taptaptap on the front door. We opened it, and there he was, impatiently waiting for us. When I went out to open the barn door, he ran ahead of me and then waited for me to open it, then ran in to his favorite roost. Funny bird!

 

[baldie]

Chickens fake not being smart...that way all they have to do it lay eggs.

 

[mamaKate]

I have a little D'uccle pullet in a large ferret cage. The door is latched with a clothes pin. I had a guinea keet and an EE pullet in a large clear plastic brooder next to her. The chicks popped off their lid and then flew to the D'uccle's cage and removed the clohes pin. I put it back for a re-enactment. They did it by climbing the side while flapping their wings. That's what I get for letting them watch "Paulie." lol

 

[Sammimom]

Cute stories! Our three hens come to the sliding glass door all the time to see what the family is doing. They know where the people are!

 

[Tala]

Quote:
I watched my Redstar climb welded wire by walking up it while flapping furiously. So much for clipping her flight feathers

 

[Royd]

Mine love figs, but most are inaccessible, to them... When they see me, at the fig tree, they come running. I eat the main part of the fruit and offer them the stem and a small piece, but I make them jump for it. They can jump a foot off the ground, without the use of their wings, and get the fruit, every time.