They're definitely not dumb, but nowhere near as smart as parrots or corvids. Allowing them to free range during the day allows them to develop mentally vs. keeping them in cages. If nothing else, watching them from behind as they run around is absolutely hilarious.
this post was submitted on 18 Feb 2025
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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.
No they aren't, I've seen them kill themselves in the most dumb way for no reason except them being mindless automata. Heard the same about cows. Goats are pretty smart btw.
Update: instinct-driven is really good description of them
Cows recognize and respond to their given names (and sometimes even nicknames used by specific people) and have best friends. They are very far from stupid. They're lovely and charming animals. It takes a lot of cognitive dissonance for me to continue eating beef after spending some time at a dairy farm.
Like seeing a cow playing soccer.
That was really fun to watch, thanks! Cows seem to be a lot better at ball sports than emus.
Because emus have only known war.
Pigs too
Cows aren't stupid (by animal standards). Just slow. Calves are like puppies.
I've never owned cows, childhood experience taught me that they are pretty dumb, in the sense that they are slow to react on both ends, as in they won't react to something fast enough, but when they react they are even slower to stop doing shit, especially when stressed. My friend and I had once to stop a calf from strangling itself after she tangled herself in a rope, another time I've seen them try to attack a truck after it moved on and they psyched each other for like ten minutes after the fact (good times, lol).
What matters is that I love them so much! They're all yummy!
This sums up my experience with chicken
Fascinating
This was a short read.
Perfect length for a Chicken to read.
Your username would indicate you know what you're talking about.