Factory farming has made us think of chickens as mindless automata. But our downy friends know much more than we give them credit for.
Factory farming has made us think of chickens as mindless automata. But our downy friends know much more than we give them credit for.
I dunno, they’re pretty damn stupid too lol. Some of the things they do are absurd. Hens less so than roosters, but we’re still talking about critters that will run into the same spot on a wall every day because they won’t slow down at the place they’d be able to stop before they hit. And I’m talking months of it.
I love our birds. They’re engaging, they can be sweet and loving, and despite not having wanted any pets again, I don’t regret a single second of having them. But they are about as smart as bricks about most things.
Which is indeed more than what most people give them credit for. They’re definitely not mindless. But they are very instinct driven.
I would say that maybe we didn’t value intelligence but rather the contrary when breeding them, and thus we probably put natural selection out of the equation.
Yeah, I can agree.
Since getting the chickens, I’ve met people with pet chickens as opposed to working birds. The breeds that have been bred as pets or show animals do tend to be smarter, even compared to other breeds raised the same way. Your typical Rhode Island red is a bit dim compared to something like a silkie, even when both are hand raised and well socialized.
But I don’t think anyone has bred chickens for smarts at all.