Widely considered the raging ignoramuses of the avian world, chickens are cavalierly and routinely sidelined by ‘hoomins’ – invariably towards the frying pan, after which, they are devoured with abandon (dumbness is delicious!) Compared to their corvidae cousins, for instance – the species of fowl that includes evil geniuses and villainous vermin like crows and ravens – chickens have been traditionally dismissed as the dimmest bulbs in the darkest rooms of the deepest basements. But scientist nearly choked on their Chicken Rice when they recently discovered that there IS ‘somebody upstairs’ as regards the flavoursome poultry.

To their eternal bemusement, researchers ascertained that hens (you go girls!) are capable of mathematical reasoning and logic, including numeracy, self-control and even basic structural engineering (shut up!). Traits such as these are normally only shown in hoomin children above the age of four – but on top of that, the domesticated birds have an ability to empathise (a sophisticated theory of mind) and even plan ahead (get out of here!).

“The domesticated chicken is something of a phenomenon,” said Christine Nicol, professor of animal welfare at Bristol University. “Studies over the past years have revealed their finely-honed sensory capacities, their ability to think, draw inferences, apply logic and plan ahead.”

In her study ‘The Intelligent Hen’, Nicol explained that the animal is capable of distinguishing numbers up to five, and is familiar with ‘transitive inference’ – the idea in logic that, if A is greater than B, and B is greater than C, then A is greater than C. (huh?) For a chicken, this could be applied to fighting: if the first chicken beat the second, who had already beaten the third, the third chicken would assume that the first chicken would beat them too (yes, but do they know why they crossed the road?)

The birds also have an understanding of physics, which was demonstrated in experiments where they showed more interest in realistic diagrams than those that defied the laws of physics. Young chicks knew that an object that moves out of their sight still exists, unlike human babies, who only develop those skills by aged one (oh the shame!).

Chickens also showed the ability to plan ahead and exhibit self-control, with 93% of hens understanding that if they waited longer to start eating food, they would be allowed access to it for longer.

Further evidence of hens’ intelligence comes from tests showing that at just two weeks old, they can navigate using the sun by taking into account its height and position during the day (how many hoomins can do that?)

“Chickens certainly have more capabilities than people are aware of,” said researcher and author Siobhan Abeyesinghe. “I do think they are unjustly maligned. We have this psychological shielding to devalue animals we use for meat so we feel less concern about them.” (Ouch).

Based on an article published in www.PetFinder.my