Study: Chickens Might Be as Smart as Dolphins

San Jose Mercury News ^ | 1/4

[nickcarraway]

Often dismissed as bird-brains, chickens are showing they’ve got some smarts

As we get ready to launch ourselves into the Year of the Rooster, here’s news that could give you new respect for the humble chicken.

Researchers have determined that chickens are smarter than we think, have a good measure of self-control, and might even have Machiavellian tendencies.

A study published this week in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Animal Cognition, revealed that those bird-brained chickens are actually pretty smart, as most backyard chicken farmers have long maintained.

Neuroscientist Lori Marino authored the paper, which compiled the conclusions of several studies showing that chickens demonstrate self-control and self-assessment, which may indicate self-awareness. They also show the capacity for cunning and duplicity, which Marino described as Machiavellian-like social interactions.

Marino is the executive director of the Kimmela Center for Animal Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that supports basic animal rights.

Among the observations in the paper:

Chickens possess some understanding of numbers and basic arithmetic.

[TexasRepublic]

“I have had chickens and they are not smart. I watched my chickens standing out in a very heavy rain storm looking straight up at the rain coming down. Several of them stood there so long their nostrils filled with rain water and they drowned! True story!”

I saw the same thing happen when I raised quail. Good thing they are stupid, I would feel bad eating a smart animal. :-)

[Ditter]

They were quails not chickens but they drowned in the rain, the same as my chickens. I was hoping that someone would come forth with a similar story. Thanks.