How smart are chickens?

[MaryMary]

I don't have chickens. I probably never will. Yet, I'm curious. I watch the television show "Live Free or Die" on National Geographic channel. There's a homesteader couple, Tony and Amelia, and they raise free range chickens. Their goal is to live entirely off the land, and so, they have to find ways to feed their chickens. (They ate the rooster that kept digging up their tea plants! )

On one episode, they drilled holes in the sides and bottom of a 5 gallon bucket. They got a piece of roadkill, and put it in the bucket for... um... however long it takes to get maggots. (I think they said it was about a week.) Then they hung the bucket over a patch of bare dirt, and when the maggots rained out, the chickens had a field day!! (That part was pretty comical. The chickens were amazed, food is falling from the sky!!)

To me, that's pretty high on the "ick factor," but I have to admit, pretty ingenious, too. My question, basically, is this - would the chickens eventually learn to bump the bucket, to make more food fall out?

And while I'm curious about chickens, is having a rooster really necessary? Wouldn't the hens produce eggs whether there was a male around or not?

 

[Chuck]

A rooster is necessary to have baby chicks not eggs. I don't think you can teach chickens anything and I also don't think that their learning curve is very steep either.

 

[zigs]

The ones I help look after have learned to jump in the dustbin where their food is kept as soon as you take the lid off.

Know someone who hangs roadkill badgers up in the chicken run for the maggots, they love em.

When I was building my house I used to collect any spiders I found in one of my ex wife's empty cigarette packets before feeding them to the house chicken.

It very quickly associated tasty spiders with a 20 superkings packet.

The mrs never worked out why the chicken went for her every time she opened her cigarette packet

 

[marlingardener]

I have found that chickens can learn, but they only learn what is beneficial to them. For example, our hens will only come into the night coop if I spread a treat around--no treat, they stay out no matter how I beg. Our hens have learned that the first ones out in the morning are more likely to get the tasty bugs, so there is a stampede of fluffy hens going to the outside coop.
If we have an infestation of squash bugs or grasshoppers, I let three or four out to range the vegetable garden. They won't stray far from their flock and I have no trouble getting them back into the coop.
Roosters are not necessary unless you want to raise your own chicks. We just recently got rid of a young rooster that was included in our order of chicks. He is going to a lovely lady who truly adores poultry. When she picked him up, he cuddled into her arms. Yes, chickens do have emotions!

 

[MaryMary]

Know someone who hangs roadkill badgers up in the chicken run for the maggots, they love em.

I thought the bucket was icky! It would at least help contain the smell!

When she picked him up, he cuddled into her arms.

Aww...that's just sweet!! I've heard they can be very affectionate.


A co-worker has chickens. She said her rooster hates her, tries to attack her every time she goes in the coop. One of the hens is a BIG white chicken, and she loves her. So "Big Mama" faces off with the rooster whenever my friend goes in the coop!

 

[marlingardener]

Depending on the breed, chickens can be calm, affectionate, or "henzillas". We have Black Australorps because they are adapted to our climate, and are a docile breed. They also lay big brown eggs, frequently!
I've heard horror stories about Leghorns, a breed known for being aggressive. There are other breeds that may or may not be aggressive. I'll stick with my large, black, fluffy, nice hens that give us delicious eggs. Our ladies are pets, and the eggs are a side benefit.

 

[MaryMary]

Oh, they're pretty! Do they all have that bluish-green iridescence?

I keep telling my friend that I'm going to buy her a couple of the Easter Egger chickens, she just has to give me some blue and green eggs every now and then.

I would like to try green eggs and ham.

 

[Beth_B]

My family had chickens on and off when I was growing up and I had them for several years after that. Never heard of the maggot feeding method, sounds gross but quite efficient!

Chickens are not really intelligent but they will learn by rote what's in their best interest. Depending on breed, they can have fairly distinctive personalities. I had Rhode Island reds because they are prolific layers of large brown eggs, but they are also stroppy and smart chooks. Also auracanas for pretty blue-green eggs.


I can have chickens where I live (no roosters) but figured out after all the costs to keep them warm and safe and happy I'd be spending about $10 per egg. I get eggs from a nearby heritage farm for $2.50 a dozen.

 

[marlingardener]

Yes, they do have a green sheen to their feathers--just one more thing to make us appreciate them! When the sun hits them just right, they shimmer and gleam.
"Easter egg chickens" are Auracanas, which lay green or blue eggs. They are not big layers, but what they give you are very colorful!
Dr. Seuss probably didn't have Aurancas in mind when he wrote Green Eggs and Ham.

 

[zigs]

 

[Corzhens]

And while I'm curious about chickens, is having a rooster really necessary? Wouldn't the hens produce eggs whether there was a male around or not?

We have chickens in our extended garden (the vacant lot beside our property) and although we own it, the neighbor takes care of the chickens. The are also loose and the feeding is just once a day, usually in the morning, of cracked corn and palay. The breeding is natural and the hens produce eggs because of the rooster. What you are saying perhaps is in the poultry where the pullets (female chickens) are fed with laying mash so they produce eggs even without the rooster. However, those eggs of the pullets cannot be hatched because there is no sperm in the egg.

 

[marlingardener]

MaryMary, a rooster isn't needed for egg production. "Egg factories" are large producers where the hens are kept in cages and never even see a rooster!
We gave our rooster away to a lady who keeps chickens because we didn't want to breed chicks. Every three or four years we buy a dozen chicks from a breeder that guarantees their health. Easier for us, and the hens don't seem to mind!

 

[MaryMary]

Well, this is "General Chat," and I imagine no one joins a forum if they don't like to read, so...

While visiting with my sister, she told me her neighbor had gotten chickens, and complained that the rooster woke her up every morning. Her neighbor is not breeding the chickens, they only want eggs. I told my sister about my co-worker's "attack rooster," and that she only wants them for the eggs, also. Since neither of us raises chickens, we decided we would each go to our respective "chicken person," and inquire as to the purpose of having a rooster. Then we'd enlighten each other as to the reason for the rooster.

My co-worker seemed a bit flummoxed at the idea of not having a rooster. She had never considered not having one. After a moment's thought, she told me that she thought having the rooster around would somehow kick the egg-laying into overdrive.


That made no sense to me. ( Oh, how I wish I didn't produce eggs when there wasn't a male around!! )


My sister's neighbor told her that the rooster established "pecking order." We've both read about pecking order, in psychology, how it relates to humans. To our way of thinking, if having the rooster kept the chicken fights at a minimum, maybe that was why so these people insisted on having roosters.

Since I was already asking about chickens, I figured more info never hurts, and maybe someone had a better reason than the ones we had been given!!

Dr. Seuss probably didn't have Aurancas in mind when he wrote Green Eggs and Ham.

I didn't think so. It just made me laugh!

 

[marlingardener]

Roosters don't determine "pecking order," the hens do. We can determine the head hen at about 10-12 weeks old. She will be slightly larger, have more of a comb, and be bossy. You have never seen bossy until you've seen a bossy hen! Every once in a while the dominant hen will be challenged by an upstart, and after a few squawks, fluffing feathers, and perhaps a peck or two, the pecking order is re-established.
Our head hen is Victoria--aptly named since she scared the heck out of every rival. Our hens don't really get aggressive--their assertions to dominance are usually a few squawks, a fluffing of feathers, and perhaps a brief chase around the coop. Would that the world powers were as sensible as hens!

 

[MaryMary]

Well, then that explains why "Big Mama" plants herself between my friend and the attack rooster! She must be the head hen, and she knows who feeds her!

Would that the world powers were as sensible as hens!

Yes!!