Video: Chicken Intelligence

An interesting video outlining possible evidence for chicken's having decent intelligence. (I say 'possibly' because I have yet to check all the references.) This is a topic I've been interested in since I realized many of my own chickens responded to my 'come here' or 'no' calls, as well as their names.

This video was done by GeoBeat News on Youtube. None of my birds are featured here.

Chickens Enjoying Dried Cricket Treats

Here is a video of my hens eating some dried cricket treats. I was able to buy these treats for them through the generous donations from my egg buyers. :) A big thank you from the hens and I for that. The music used in the video is the royalty free song "Cute" by BenSound. Enjoy the video!

Sorry the video is shorter than what I'd actually filmed. I'm not sure if the data corrupted or what when I put it into my video editor. For some reason it just would freeze random frames. 

The picture below is the ingredients listing for the treats.

Chickens Enjoying the Spring Outdoors

Here is an 'old' video from the spring of 2017 of the hens being let out to graze as is our typical 'morning ritual'. Not only are they eating lush, untreated grass but insects which turn up when they are scratching around. It was a lovely day with all the birds singing and the chickens happily grazing.

Towards the end of the video you may see a little cream and red hen, a Salmon Faverolle named Ginger, seeming to run off with something. She has found a worm or some such thing and the chickens like to play keep away with each other when one has come across a delicious treat. :) At the very end you will see Astrid the Black Australorp eyeing something in the sky. I don't remember what it is, probably our resident sharp shinned hawk, but that taut neck and one-eyed glance to the sky is the indicator of the sighting of an aerial predator.

Hope you enjoy! :)

Breed Information

Here I will speak a bit on the different breeds that I've raised and what I remember about them. Again, this is me just generalizing what I experienced with each of these breeds. On this page you will find information on: Lifespans/longevity, behavior/personality (despite how subjective this is), eggs, bird characteristics (like feathering, face shape, eye color, weight, muscling, ect), and maladies that may be linked with certain breeds.

Barred Rock

I will start off by noting that I currently do not have any Barred Rocks in my flock at this time (1/14/17). They were one of the first chickens that I raised and were a very diverse set of creatures.

Behaviors/Personality: I recommend this breed (and basically all Rock breeds) to any and all who are starting out on chickens for the first time. They are easy to tame and imprint on. They are less aggressive in bearing and have a sensibility about them that make them easy to handle, show, and tend to. However, dominance comes easily to them and they will hold the head of the flock with ease. I had several individuals who, over the years, replaced each other, one after the next without bloodshed. Their 'reign' is kindly and they do not fight or pick on lower hens as much as other breeds do.

Eggs: In egg production I would say they are medium layers. They lay about once every day up until the six or seven year, then about every other day until the tenth. Interestingly enough, they sometimes tend to lay off and on into eleventh and even up until they die. This seems to be a common trait across the Rock lineage as I have Partridge Rocks that lay occasionally and they are in their thirteenth year. Eggs are a creamy brown color, often with darker, chocolate brown speckles on them. The eggs of the Barred Rock are medium in size (rarely the 'jumbo' size).

Common Maladies: The number one cause of death in this breed of chickens was ovarian cancer. This was determined not by autopsy but by observing first a sudden severance of egg production followed by weight loss and a large, internal bulbous tumor at the hen's rear. I suspect this has something to do with how long they continued laying.