The Hidden Lives of Chickens
http://www.goveg.com/f-hiddenliveschickens.asp#
Leading animal behavior scientists from across the globe now tell us
that chickens are inquisitive and interesting animals whose cognitive
abilities are more advanced than those of cats, dogs, and even some
primates. Chickens understand sophisticated intellectual concepts,
learn from watching each other, demonstrate self-control, worry about
the future, and even have cultural knowledge that is passed from
generation to generation. Dr. Chris Evans, who studies animal behavior
and communication at Macquarie University in Australia, says, “As a
trick at conferences, I sometimes list these attributes, without
mentioning chickens, and people think I’m talking about monkeys.” 1
Chickens comprehend cause-and-effect relation****ps and understand that
objects still exist even after they are hidden from view.2 This puts
the cognitive abilities of chickens above those of small human
children.3 Scientists are so impressed with what we now know about the
intellect of chickens and other birds that a group of international
experts recently called for a new naming system to reflect the
complex, mammal-like structure of avian brains.4 Dr. Christine Nicol,
who studies chicken intelligence, reflected, “They may be ‘bird
brains,’ but we need to redefine what we mean by ‘bird brains.’
Chickens have shown us they can do things people didn’t think they
could do. There are hidden depths to chickens, definitely.” 5
When in their natural surroundings, not on factory farms, chickens
form complex social hierarchies, also known as “pecking orders,” and
every chicken knows his or her place on the social ladder and
remembers the faces and ranks of more than 100 other birds.6 People
who have spent time with chickens know that each bird has a different
personality that often relates to his or her place in the pecking
order—some are gregarious and fearless, while others are more shy and
watchful; some chickens enjoy human company, while others are
standoffish, shy, or even a bit aggressive. Just like dogs, cats, and
humans, each chicken is an individual with a distinct personality.
Brainy Birds
Several research teams have recently published findings on chicken
intelligence that have challenged old notions about avian cognitive
abilities. For instance, scientists have found that chickens clearly
understand cause-and-effect relation****ps, an advanced comprehension
skill that puts their intellect beyond that of dogs. In the book The
Development of Brain and Behaviour in the Chicken, Dr. Lesley Rogers,
a professor of neuroscience and animal behavior, concludes, “[I]t is
now clear that birds have cognitive capacities equivalent to those of
mammals, even primates.”7
In one experiment that explored chickens’ understanding of causal
relation****ps, researchers found that when injured chickens were
offered the choice between regular food and food that contained a
painkiller, the birds soon understood that the medicated food made
them feel better, and they learned to seek it out it over the other
choices. “The chickens will take the analgesic every time,” says Dr.
Joy Mench, a professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at the
University of California at Davis. They understood cause and effect
and learned how to make the best decision.8
Chickens can also grasp other complex mental concepts. For instance,
according to Evans, chickens are able to understand that objects still
exist even after they are hidden or removed from view. This level of
cognition is actually beyond the capacity of small human children.9
Researchers also recently re****ted that chickens “can anticipate the
future and demonstrate self-control, something previously attributed
only to humans and other primates.”10 Scientists made this discovery
after they observed that when given the option between pecking a
button and receiving a small food reward instantly or holding out for
22 seconds in order to receive a larger food reward, chickens in the
study demonstrated self-control by holding out for the larger reward
over 90 percent of the time.11
Chickens are social animals who form complex social hierarchies and
interact in complex ways that are indicative of what anthropologists
call “culture.” For example, researchers have shown that chickens
learn from observing the success and failure of others in their
community. One experiment that demonstrated this finding involved
teaching one group of chickens to peck red and green buttons a certain
number of times to obtain a food reward. Researchers were surprised to
find that when a new group of chickens watched those who had learned
how to push the buttons for food, the new chickens quickly caught on
by watching the others. At a scientific conference, Dr. Christine
Nicol, who worked on the on the study, told her colleagues, “They may
be ‘bird brains,’ but we need to redefine what we mean by ‘bird
brains.’ Chickens have shown us they can do things people didn’t think
they could do. There are hidden depths to chickens, definitely.”12
Researchers have also found that chickens have a cultural knowledge
that they pass down from generation to generation. John Webster, a
professor at Bristol University in the U.K., set up a study in which
he gave chickens a mixture of yellow and blue kernels of corn. The
blue kernels were tainted with chemicals that made the birds feel
sick, and they quickly learned to avoid the blue corn entirely (this
is also another example of their understanding of cause and effect).
When the chickens in Webster’s study had their young, he spread yellow
and blue corn around the farm, and even though he made it so that both
types were harmless, the mother hens remembered that the blue corn had
previously made them sick, and they steered their young away from it.
In an article in the London Times, Webster explains, “What this tells
us is that the mother hen has learnt what food is good and what is bad
for her, that she cares so much for her chicks she will not let them
eat the bad food, and she is passing on to her young what she has
learnt. To me, that is pretty close to culture—and an advanced one at
that. Chickens are sentient creatures and have feelings of their
own.”13
Scientists have been so impressed with the cognitive capabilities of
birds that a group of international experts recently called for a new
naming system to reflect the advanced nature of birds’ brains.
According to an article that appeared in The Wa****ngton Post, “The new
system, which draws upon many of the words used to describe the human
brain and has broad sup****t among scientists, acknowledges the now
overwhelming evidence that avian and mammalian brains are remarkably
similar—a fact that explains why many kinds of bird are not just
twitchily resourceful but able to design and manufacture tools, solve
mathematical problems and, in many cases, use language in ways that
even chimpanzees and other primates cannot.”14
Social Smarts
People who have spent time with chickens know that they have complex
social structures, adept communication skills, and distinct
personalities, just as we do. Colorado State University Distinguished
Professor Dr. Bernard Rollins notes,
“[C]ontrary to what one may hear from the industry, chickens are …
complex behaviorally, do quite well in learning, show a rich social
organization, and have a diverse repertoire of calls. Anyone who has
kept barnyard chickens recognizes their significant differences in
personality.” 15
Like people, chickens each have a place or rank within their
group—some birds are dominant, and others are expected to be more
submissive because they are on a lower social rung. Chickens know
their places within the hierarchy, and they act accordingly—for
instance, when learning how to perform a new task, they often follow
the lead of the dominant members in their group.16 Mench explains,
“Chickens show sophisticated social behavior. … That’s what a
pecking
order is all about.”17 Chickens also remember the faces of those in
their social group; Mench continues, “They can recognize more than a
hundred other chickens and remember them.”18 Scientists agree that
chickens’ complex social structures and good memories are undeniable
signs of advanced intelligence comparable to that of mammals.
Talkin’ Chicken
Chickens communicate with each other through their “clucks”—Mench
explains, “They have more than thirty types of vocalizations.”19 They
have different calls to distinguish between threats that are
approaching by land and those that are approaching over water, and a
mother hen begins to teach these calls to her chicks before they even
hatch—she clucks softly to them while sitting on the eggs, and they
chirp back to her and to each other from inside their shells.20,21
Small Birds, Big Personalities
Like all animals, chickens love their families and value their own
lives. The social nature of chickens means that they are always
looking out for their families and for other chickens in their group.
In the wild, chickens spend most of their time in groups—they enjoy
foraging for food, taking dustbaths, and roosting in trees together at
night. After he toured United Poultry Concerns in 1998, Ira Glass, the
host of National Public Radio’s This American Life, was so impressed
with the personalities of the chickens he met that he hasn’t eaten
chicken or any other animal flesh since.
Mother hens care deeply for their babies—Jesus even refers to the
loving protectiveness of a hen toward her chicks in the Gospels, which
were written almost 2,000 years ago.22 Indeed, a mother hen will turn
her eggs as many as five times an hour and cluck soothingly to her
unborn chicks.23 Hens prefer to have private nests for their eggs in
protected areas far away from predators. According to The Humane
Society of the United States, “The desire [for a private nest] is so
strong, in fact, that a hen will often go without food and water, if
necessary, to use a nest.”24 This demonstrates the fact that hens will
sacrifice their own comfort if it means protecting their chicks.
Besides bonding to their young, chickens also form strong friend****ps
and enjoy spending time with their companions, just like we do. Kim
Sturla, the manager of Animal Place, a sanctuary for farmed animals
near Sacramento, recounts a touching story of two chickens. “We
rescued an elderly hen, Mary, from a city dump and later an elderly
rooster, Notorious Boy. They bonded, and they would roost on the
picnic table. One stormy night with the rain really pelting down, I
went to put them in the barn and I saw the rooster had his wing
extended over the hen, protecting her.”25
Read about what happens to chickens on factory farms and in
slaughterhouses, and learn how you can help chickens.
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1 William Grimes, “If Chickens Are So Smart, Why Aren’t They Eating
Us?” The New York Times 12 Jan. 2003, late ed..
2 Grimes.
3 Grimes.
4 Rick Weiss, “Bird Brains Get Some New Names, and New Respect,” The
Wa****ngton Post 1 Feb. 2005: A10.
5 Ananova, “Chickens ‘Not Just ‘Bird Brains,’” 2005.
6 Michael Specter, “The Extremist,” The New Yorker 14 Apr. 2003.
7 Lesley Rogers, The Development of Brain and Behaviour in the
Chicken, CABI Publi****ng: Oxford****re, U.K., 1995: 217.
8 Specter.
9 Grimes.
10 Jennifer Viegas, “Study: Chickens Think About Future,” Discovery
News 14 Jul. 2005.
11 Viegas.
12 Ananova.
13 Valerie Elliott, “Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?” London Times
Online 18 Mar. 2005.
14 Weiss.
15 Bernard Rollin, Farm Animal Welfare: Social, Bioethical, and
Research Issues, Iowa State University Press: Ames, Iowa, 1995: 118.
16 Ananova.
17 Specter.
18 Specter.
19 Specter.
20 Grimes.
21 The Humane Society of the United States, “Chickens,” 2005.
22 The Bible, Matthew 23:37-38 (New King James version),
BibleGateway.com 2005.
23 The Humane Society of the United States.
24 The Humane Society of the United States.
25 Alex Cukan, “Chickens More Than Just Dumb Clucks,” United Press
International, 20 Sep. 2002.
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