Chicken, Breed and Domesticated Chicken is the world’s most numerous domesticated bird, with more than 66 billion farmed worldwide in 2012. These birds have fascinated scholars and researchers since the dawn of Western civilization, and recent studies are beginning to reveal the depths of their complexity and cognitive ability. According to Andrew F. Fraser, professor […]
Chick development included sensory systems, including sight, hearing, smell and touch, all begin to develop prior to hatching. The shell of the egg does not shield the developing embryo from sound and light, for example, and the external environment influences the neurological development of the chick. When the chick hatches, he or she already knows […]
The basic chicken behavioral repertoire of domestic chickens is fundamentally the same as that of their wild ancestors. That is to say, domesticated chickens who revert to a feral state are behaviorally similar to wild jungle fowl. Jungle fowl are generally crepuscular; active early in the morning, asleep during the day, and awake again from […]
Intelligence of Chickens The intelligence of chickens is often underestimated. Studies are beginning to show that these birds have remarkable cognitive abilities. Christine Nicol, professor of animal welfare at the University of Bristol, has studied social learning in chickens and stated, Domestic chickens show remarkable abilities to learn socially and to benefit from the correct […]