Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Is Chicken Intelligence Higher Than We Think

By Shari Swanson


With more behavioral scientists studying chickens, there is evidence that this fowl's 'bird brain' may be more advanced that we knew. Preparing for the future, learning from trial and error, and remembering things they've learned are all within their capabilities. These tests are showing higher chicken intelligence than was realized.

Farmers and other chicken lovers have found that their chickens are able to recognize their own names when they are being called by their owners. The chickens will not respond when the name called is not their own, but will come running at the correct name. A chicken named 'Pepper' will not respond to the name, 'Spot'.

Cause and effect relationships are understandable to chickens. When an object has been removed from their sight, they realize the object is still in existence, just not in their presences. When given more than one shape to choose between to find the one filled with food, it only took three tries to find the correct shape.

Chickens have 30 distinct and different calls that mean various things to the chickens. They have vocalizations that tell if a predator is going to attack from land or from water. The mother hens teach their chicks these different calls as they are in the nest before hatching. The chicks chirp to the mother and each other from inside their shells.

Chickens live in a complex social order. We refer to this as the 'pecking order'. Each chicken is aware of its own standing in the order as well as those above it and below it. This order is not based upon age or size of the chicken, but on its ability to remain calm and fearless when threatened. Chickens are able to recognize each other by facial features. They can recognize over 100 individuals in their flock. Personality characteristics can be found in the individual birds as well. Some birds may be more aggressive, while others are more introverted. Enjoyment of human interaction varies by each birds preference as well.

During a research test, scientists gave the chickens yellow and blue corn to eat. The blue corn included an additive that made the chickens sick. The chickens learned to differentiate between the two colors. The chickens refused to eat the blue corn after it made them sick, even when the additive was removed. In addition to this, the hens taught their chicks not to eat the blue corn up to three generations later.

Chickens are able to show self control. When given a test with different amounts of food being distributed, the chickens learned that if they waited longer, they would receive larger amounts of food, instead of hitting the button again right away. A chicken that waited 22 seconds would receive a bonus compared to the chicken who waited only 9 seconds.

As more research is done to learn about the behaviors of chickens, evidence is being found that dogs and cats are not far ahead of chickens in intelligence. Higher intelligence is expect to be proven with more observation. Cognitive function is higher that researchers had suspected in the past.




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