Thinking chickens: a review of cognition, emotion, and behavior in the domestic chicken PMC
They have acoustically distinct alarm calls corresponding to three different types of predators, each of which requires a different type of response on the part of the receivers (Cheney and Seyfarth 1990; Seyfarth et al. 1980; Struhsaker 1967). Several species of birds also engage in referential communication, including ravens (Bugnyar et al. 2001) and chickadees (Templeton et al. 2005), among others. Another component of a sense of self is the ability to compare oneself to others as a distinct entity. These studies show that in socially complex birds, such as chickens, logical inference is likely important for navigating their social landscape. There is still some discussion in the literature about the fundamental nature of transitive inference in nonhuman animals (Vasconcelos 2008).
“Chickens were domesticated over three thousand years ago and have been living in our yards — more or less — ever since,” she writes. Despite this, many people lack basic knowledge about chicken biology and fail to view these widely misunderstood birds as fellow sentient creatures. After the first death among her hens, she is surprised to feel the pangs of grief and to learn that her chickens mourn their lost companions, too. There is an abundance of anecdotal evidence for individual personalities in chickens from sanctuaries, small farmers, and people who keep backyard chickens. And as should be clear from the previous section, mother hens show a range of individual maternal personality traits which appear to affect the behavior of their chicks.
Ongoing environmental enrichment encourages natural chicken behaviors, reducing the likelihood of pecking order battles. Continue to add or rotate enrichments to keep the environment stimulating. Maintaining a structured environment with regular feeding times, cleaning schedules, and predictable human interactions can help support the social stability of the flock. Signs of successful integration include normal foraging behavior, dust bathing, and preening in the presence of one another. Conversely, signs of a problematic integration could include continued aggression, excessive hiding by the new birds, or other abnormal behaviors.
However, these and other bird species have shown temporal abilities that go beyond these findings when given the opportunity. For instance, one study with pigeons showed they were capable of judging intervals of up to 8 min (Zeiler and Powell 1994). The chicken’s flexibility and adaptability, derived from its social red junglefowl ancestor, may have been part of its undoing, letting the birds survive even under the unnatural and intense conditions in which humans now raise them. This type of farming will likely continue as long as most people are unconcerned about where their food comes from and unaware of chickens’ remarkable nature.
All of these capacities come into play when assessing their cognitive capacities. Now, more than ever, this simple realization has a special relevance because of the recent transformation in our scientific knowledge of birds in general. In the past few years, numerous studies have shown that there is no “bright line” between “avian” and “mammalian” intelligence and complexity; complex intelligence is found in both birds, mammals, and also fish (Brown 2015; Butler 2008; Emery 2006). Likewise, Sustainable animal agriculture the brains of birds have historically been viewed as simpler and more primitive than those of mammals. However, that assumption about avian brains has now been overturned by more recent studies showing that there are many functional similarities in the brains of birds and mammals, allowing for similar cognitive abilities. For its part, the chicken presumably inherited its cognitive prowess from its wild ancestor, the red junglefowl, which lives in the forests of southern and Southeast Asia.
The research won the pair one of the awards at Tuesdays’s Australian Museum Eureka prizes, the nation’s most prestigious science awards. Understanding chicken behaviour is an important aspect of backyard chicken keeping. By listening to and observing your chickens, you can better understand their vocalisations, body language, and behaviour, and provide the best care possible.
Carbohydrates provide the energy needed for daily activities, including foraging, walking, and even egg-laying. Including a mix of grains in their diet ensures that they have a good balance of energy-providing nutrients. Proper nutrition and a comfortable living environment are crucial during this time to support their growth and ensure they mature into healthy adults. A balanced diet rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals is essential for their development. Providing them with a spacious and well-maintained coop, equipped with perches, nesting boxes, and adequate ventilation, contributes to their overall well-being and encourages natural behaviors. In addition to layers and broilers, there are also heritage breeds, which are traditional and genetically diverse chicken breeds.
Such skills may underpin animals’ ability to understand complex relationships between objects or individuals in their world and may help with foraging or navigation, for example. And research published in 2011 by Joanne Edgar of the University of Bristol in England and her colleagues revealed a softer side of these sometimes Machiavellian birds, demonstrating that they are capable of feeling empathy. As responsible chicken owners, it is essential to prioritize the humane treatment of your flock. This includes providing proper housing, ample space, access to clean water and nutritious food, and protection from extreme weather conditions. Regular monitoring for signs of distress or health issues is necessary, and prompt action should be taken to address any concerns. Additionally, educating yourself about animal welfare practices and staying up to date with ethical standards in chicken raising can help ensure the well-being of your flock.
Look for signs that the new birds are navigating the established pecking order without excessive stress or aggression. Once your chicks are feathered out and sturdy—usually around the 6 to 8-week mark—it’s time to start the introduction process. Begin with supervised visits in a protected area within the run, where the older chickens can see but not touch the newcomers. Gradually increase the number of new birds introduced to the flock at one time.
Student perceptions of chicken intelligence were assessed pre- and post-training. Relative to their initial perceptions of chickens as slow learners, the students’ attitudes shifted to viewing them as intelligent and emotional animals with individual personalities. Interestingly, even pre-training, most students agreed that chickens could feel hunger, pain, and fear, but were less likely to believe chickens could feel more complex emotions, such as boredom, frustration, and happiness.
A proof-of-concept study has been published as a draft on the research website Research Square, which means it has yet to be peer reviewed, although the team has submitted it to Nature Scientific Reports. The scientists used machine learning (ML), a specific subset of AI that allows systems to learn and come to informed conclusions. Experts trained an AI model with about 100 hours of chicken recordings until it could allegedly identify whether a bird was happy, sad or frightened with 80 per cent accuracy. Not any more, however, because artificial intelligence (AI) technology from Japan has finally been able to translate them – giving a unique insight into a chicken’s wellbeing. From clucks to squawks and even ‘growling’, the meanings behind chicken sounds have always been a mystery, even to farmers.
Lactate can be produced by a different group of Firmicutes, namely Lactobacillus species from the Lactobacillaceae family. However, this genus also contains (opportunistic) pathogens, such as Enterococcus cecorum. Almost all bacterial species in the chicken intestine can be appointed either to the phylum Firmicutes (70%), Bacteroidetes (12%) or Proteobacteria (9%).
Intriguingly, their mothers also became upset simply by observing their chicks’ reaction. They showed the same signs of stress the chicks exhibited even though the hens themselves did not receive the puff of air and the chicks were in no obvious danger. These findings indicate that chickens can take the perspective of other birds—an ability previously seen in only a handful of species, including ravens, squirrels and, of course, humans.
For best results, eggs should be placed with the pointed ends down and turned regularly (at least three times per day) until one to three days before hatching. If the eggs are not turned, the embryo inside may stick to the shell and may hatch with physical defects. Chickens will naturally live for six or more years, but broiler breeds typically take less than six weeks to reach slaughter size.[88] A free range or organic broiler will usually be slaughtered at about 14 weeks of age.
Although self-control is not direct evidence of all forms of self-awareness, it may be an important indicator of a sense of self at some level (but see Ainslie 1974; Rachlin and Green 1972, for other interpretations). Thus, the presence of self-control over time in chickens may indicate a cognitive capacity on a continuum of complexity with foreplanning and mental time travel. But in other studies, the evidence for metacognition is inconclusive (Iwasaki et al. 2013). Western scrub jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens) show evidence of episodic memory, i.e., the what, where, and when of food-caching episodes. Jays can remember when and where they cached a variety of foods that differ in the rate at which they decay, and retrieve those stored foods later in the appropriate order.
