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Chickens are fascinating – the more scientists look into these birds, the more interesting and complex they seem. For example, would it ever occur to you that the color of chicken eggs sometimes coincides with the color of their earlobes? Or that there are more chickens on this Earth than there are humans? Surprising as it may seem, we actually share some intriguing similarities with these domesticated birds. For one – is that chickens, no different from humans, actually prefer attractive human faces over those not so genetically-gifted. Scroll down below to see the full list of things, that you may not have known about chickens until now.
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#1
They Can Count Up To Five
Christine Nicol is a professor of animal welfare at Bristol University, who says that chickens have “many hidden depths.” She has found out and published in her paper, that the bird is capable of distinguishing numbers up to five and is familiar with the logic that, if A is greater than B, and B is greater than C, then A is greater than C.
Chicken communication is not at all primitive. Those who have observed these birds closely, know that chickens can be just as deceptive and cunning as humans when they need to.
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#2
They Understand That An Object That Moves Out Of Sight Still Exists
The chickens have an understanding that if an object moves out of their sight, it does not mean that it stops existing — something that human toddles fail to comprehend until they're 1-year-old or older.
Elizabeth Schuyler 6 years ago
Object permanence is the technical term, in case you didn't know. This is why babies get scared when their mom or dad leaves.
Dynein 6 years ago
Well, a toddler's brain is still developing. That comparison doesn't seem fair. Object permanence has been shown to be present in many animals, and, frankly, I don't think this is that "special" in higher animals. Object permanence would give you the ability to know that a predator you saw is still there even if it hides after you see it, that a prey is still there even if it hid, and that any food that moves or is moved out of out sight is till there.
While chicken communication can be vocal, they also have a wide array of visual displays and body language to communicate a range of information. By using sophisticated signals, they convey their intentions, all while taking into account their prior experiences and knowledge.
#3
They Have All Descended From The Red Jungle Fowl
Every chicken we see today is the descendant of the red jungle fowl “a very shy jungle bird that lives in South Asia, all the way from Pakistan to Sumatra and Indonesia,” Andrew Lawler, author of Why Did the Chicken Cross the World: The Epic Saga of the Bird That Powers Civilization told the media. The author continues that these birds are so shy, that when captured, they can die of a heart attack, due to feeling terrified.
Panda Kicki 6 years ago
Naw... They definently stopped feeling shy, my chickens was extremely social and not easily scared :D
David KH Wong 6 years ago
I wonder if their ancient ancestors (kind of dinosaurs) were.....shy.
Chickens are flock birds and they have a complex social hierarchical structure. Each chicken has a specific social status, recognized by the other members of the flock.
#4
The Color Of Chicken Eggs Usually Coincides With The Color Of Their Earlobes
Ear lobe color seems to be related to egg color most of the time. Breeds with white earlobes usually lay white eggs (except for Penedesencas and Empordanesas). Chickens with red earlobes usually lay eggs in shades of brown (except for breeds and varieties like Easter Eggers, Ameraucanas, and Araucanas, which lay blue or green eggs)
Elizabeth Schuyler 6 years ago
*raises hand, but it's actually the snap at the end of "The Schuyler Sisters"*
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Eunice Probert 6 years ago
My hens have white earlobes, but they lay brown eggs. But then they're hybrids, not pure bred.
David KH Wong 6 years ago
We shall not discriminate chicken by their colours of earlobes. It's not accurate anymore.
Bibs 6 years ago (edited)
Not true. Mostly it fits but just take easteregger (laying green or blue eggs...yes..really) or mixes...fits 90% but not always.
WillemPenn 6 years ago
Take time to read before commenting. The author noted this.
Load More Replies...The social dynamics and their orders influence many activities, such as feeding, drinking, egg-laying, mating, roosting and dust-bathing. The dominant chickens usually have primary access to food, shelter, and mates.
#5
They Are Able To Recognize Up To 30 Other Individual Chickens
These birds can recognize up to 30 other individual chickens, whereas chicks imprint the image of their mother between 24 to 36 hours of hatching.
Elizabeth Schuyler 6 years ago
I'm sorry but now I'm wondering if chickens give themselves names. "Hey Phil! How's Sally?" "Oh, she laid two eggs last night."
Amery 6 years ago
Heck, kids anymore can't recognize 30 individuals without looking at their 'call list' in their smart phones. :(
James Thompson 6 years ago
I recall reading that humans can't really function as a group in numbers larger than 30. Ever read David Wong's books?
In the study conducted in 2015, Lisel O'Dqyer together with Susan Hazel ran a class for undergraduate students at the University of Adelaide in Australia. The students performed experiments that involved training chickens. Before the class, students had to fill out a questionnaire in which the majority of them said that they had spent little time with chickens. They viewed them as simple animals, who aren't very likely to feel boredom, frustration or happiness. Two hours after training the chickens, students filled out the questionnaire again and this time, they were far more likely to say that the chickens can experience all three of the emotional states.
#6
They Have A Preference For Attractive Human Faces
For the study, the scientists trained four hens to react to photos of an average female face but not an average male face, and vice versa for their male counterparts. Then, the chickens were shown pictures of faces with exaggeratedly masculine and feminine traits. As a result, the chickens pecked more at screens that showed symmetrical faces – revealing the same preferences for faces that humans have. These results suggest, that our natural inclination towards symmetry is rooted in the nervous system, contrary to the previous belief that it is so because of our cultural influences.
Elizabeth Schuyler 6 years ago
Or maybe the more attractive faces are chickens... ATTRACTIVE PEOPLE ARE CHICKENS CONSPIRACY
Dianna Siever 6 years ago
But they are PECKING more, at the more symmetrical pictures. How does this behavior denote attraction?
Some studies suggest that chickens can appreciate and envision how the world must appear to their counterparts and that they can use this information for their own advantage.
#7
There Are More Chickens On This Earth Than There Are Humans
In addition to this, with 25 billion chickens in the world, there are more of them than any other bird species.
Panda Kicki 6 years ago
Lets hope they dont start recognizing more then 30 buddies and gang up on us...
Andres Tejeda 6 years ago
All I can think of is the Zelda games when you p**s off the chickens and they all attack. I bet the war between chicken and Men would be the same.
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Zachary Goldstein 6 years ago
If chickens start a revolution, Imma do anything I can to help them
Much of what we know about chickens is largely based on agricultural research which skews the results, as the industry tends to think about the animals in terms of their "productivity".
#8
They Appear To Have A Basic Understanding Of Physics
In experiments conducted, the domestic birds showed more interest in realistic diagrams than those that defied the laws of physics.
WillemPenn 6 years ago
Just don't mention Schrödinger's cat or they'll run around like a ... well you know ...
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A B C 6 years ago
I would have expected some experiment where they'd need to peck something as to make something fall down and reveal a treat oe something the like. But c'mon, diagrams? You ain't trying to tell me chicken understand some lines drawn onto paper and being able to distinguish between realistic and faked ones? I mean, half of my coursemates back in uni (and therefore somewhat intelligent humans) consistently f*cked labeling the axes up, now chickens are supposed to excel at understanding and interpreting diagrams without being able even to read said axis labels?
In a relaxed environment, when their defenses are lowered, chickens play games (like hide and seek) and can sometimes even release a sound very similar to a cat's purring.
#9
Roosters Perform A Little Dance Called ‘Tidbitting’
In this dance, roosters make sounds (food calls) and move their head up and down, picking up and dropping bits of food. Scientists have discovered that females prefer males that often perform tidbitting and have larger and brighter combs.
Sean Reynolds 6 years ago
I have seen this happen, but their courting is even funnier. Also something ups with his legs
WillemPenn 6 years ago
I saw this and just thought the idiot couldn't keep its food in its mouth.
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Baby Clanger 6 years ago
I have a rooster called Herb and he does this, he is so caring of his girls
Holly Allen 6 years ago
I dunno....if a guy picked up my food with his mouth and dropped it I wouldn't find him very attractive.... especially if it's chocolate
David KH Wong 6 years ago
We humans male might have learned dancing from them. Dancing was necessary for mating.
"The perception of chickens [as unaware and unintelligent] is driven in part by the motivation to dismiss their intelligence and sensibilities because people eat them," says Lori Marino, an author of The Inconvenient Truth About Thinking Chickens.
#10
Many Archaeologists Believe That Chickens Were First Domesticated Not For Eating But For Cockfighting
Cockfighting, just like bullfighting, was originally a religious ritual performed between two villages or two groups. Thus, cockfighting became a very secular activity done strictly for religious purposes.
Jo Choto 6 years ago
I wish we could ban that horror and lock up everyone who participates in it.
Slinkman 6 years ago
Same for dogs. Go and fight yourself to death, leave the animals alone
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Panda Kicki 6 years ago
How did they managed that with chickens so shy they dies from heartattack when scared? Like "OK, cockfight over, first heartattack happened"
Molly Cule 6 years ago
It could be the other way around... They might only be so scared because we used to make them fight all the time.
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Vinu Vignesh 6 years ago
Yes . COCKFIGHTING is illegal and still performed in southern end of India(tamilnadu). They trained it from small. That c***s are very strong and angry. Able to manage by only one trainer. And the price of these trained c***s are verrry high.
Strawberry Hellcat 6 years ago
We should also push for a ban on dubbing (removing a rooster's comb, wattles, and earlobes) for any reason other than the health of the bird. Not just for cockfighting (which should definitely be banned), but for "show" birds too. Except in cases of frostbite, infection, or unhealthily large combs, dubbing is a barbaric practice.
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N G 6 years ago
Another fact about chicken that are bred in captivity, male chicks are usually killed at a few days old, often by pushing them through a granulator.
Terd Fergison 6 years ago (edited)
While some of these facts are nice, and cutesy, why not talk about the chickens in the factory farm industries? They live miserable, horrendous, tortured lives. So many are forced into tiny, close-quarters cages where they are severely stressed out. Can you even imagine just being stuck in cage so tiny that you can barely move for almost your whole life? They usually bite and claw at each other because that is all they can do. So in many factory farms they cut off their beaks and feet. It is so torturous, so extreme that your brain and my brain can't comprehend it. It's truly sad and awful. Everyone should consider going vegan.
Electric Ed 6 years ago
Wouldn't switching to free-range eggs & meat achieve the same end as going vegan in this context?
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Freya the Wanderer 6 years ago
How could anybody eat at Popeye's Church's, Zaxby's, KFC or Chik-Fil-A ever again with a clear conscience after perusing this list?
Elizabeth Schuyler 6 years ago
Chick fil a is horrible in more way then one.
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N G 6 years ago
Another fact about chicken that are bred in captivity, male chicks are usually killed at a few days old, often by pushing them through a granulator.
Terd Fergison 6 years ago (edited)
While some of these facts are nice, and cutesy, why not talk about the chickens in the factory farm industries? They live miserable, horrendous, tortured lives. So many are forced into tiny, close-quarters cages where they are severely stressed out. Can you even imagine just being stuck in cage so tiny that you can barely move for almost your whole life? They usually bite and claw at each other because that is all they can do. So in many factory farms they cut off their beaks and feet. It is so torturous, so extreme that your brain and my brain can't comprehend it. It's truly sad and awful. Everyone should consider going vegan.
Electric Ed 6 years ago
Wouldn't switching to free-range eggs & meat achieve the same end as going vegan in this context?
Load More Replies... Freya the Wanderer 6 years ago
How could anybody eat at Popeye's Church's, Zaxby's, KFC or Chik-Fil-A ever again with a clear conscience after perusing this list?
Elizabeth Schuyler 6 years ago
Chick fil a is horrible in more way then one.
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