Chickens are smart, and they understand their world, which raises troubling questions about how they are treated on factory farms

Feb 1, 2014 |By Carolynn L. Smith and Sarah L. Zielinski

In the animal kingdom, some creatures are smarter than others. Birds, in particular, exhibit many remarkable skills once thought to be restricted to humans: Magpies recognize their reflection in a mirror. New Caledonian crows construct tools and learn these skills from their elders. African grey parrots can count, categorize objects by color and shape, and learn to understand human words. And a sulfur-crested cockatoo named Snowball can dance to a beat.

Few people think about the chicken as intelligent, however. In recent years, though, scientists have learned that this bird can be deceptive and cunning, that it possesses communication skills on par with those of some primates and that it uses sophisticated signals to convey its intentions. When making decisions, the chicken takes into account its own prior experience and knowledge surrounding the situation. It can solve complex problems and empathizes with individuals that are in danger.

These new insights into the chicken mind hint that certain complex cognitive abilities traditionally attributed to primates alone may be more widespread in the animal kingdom than previously thought. The findings also have ethical implications for how society treats farmed chickens: recognizing that chickens have these cognitive traits compels moral consideration of the conditions they endure as a result of production systems designed to make chicken meat and eggs as widely available and cheap as possible.

Chatty Chickens

It has taken researchers almost a century to figure out what is going on in the brains of chickens. The first inklings emerged from studies conducted in the 1920s, when Norwegian biologist Thorleif Schjelderup-Ebbe established that the birds have a dominance system, which he named the “pecking order” after noting that chickens will enforce their leadership by administering a sharp peck of the beak to underlings whenever they get ideas above their station.

The next major breakthrough in understanding the chicken mind came several decades later. The late Nicholas and Elsie Collias, both at the University of California, Los Angeles, categorized the birds’ calls and determined that chickens have a repertoire of about 24 different sounds, many of which seem to be specific to certain events. For example, when faced with a threat from above, such as a hungry eagle, the birds crouch and emit a very quiet, high-pitched “eeee.” The clucking sound that most people associate with chickens is actually one they use when encountering a ground predator. The discovery of food elicits an excited series of “dock dock” sounds from males, especially when a judgmental female could be listening.

These early findings suggested that more happens in the chicken’s walnut-size brain than one might think. The vocalizations appeared to encode specific information intended to evoke a particular response from onlookers. Yet connecting these sounds and movements with their true meaning proved difficult until the development, in the 1990s, of technology that allowed researchers to test their hypotheses more rigorously. It was then that the late Chris Evans of Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, and others began to use digital audio-recording devices and high-resolution televisions to test the function of chickens’ array of sounds under controlled conditions. In essence, they created a virtual reality for the birds, surrounding a test cage with TVs that allowed them to change what a chicken encountered—a companion, a competitor, a predator—and to record how it responded to a variety of situations. A test chicken might see a simulated hawk flying overhead, or a fox running toward it from the side, or a rooster making a series of dock-dock sounds.

This virtual reality led to a truly astonishing revelation: the sounds or movements an individual chicken makes convey specific information, and other chickens understand it. A chicken need not see an aerial predator, for instance, to behave as if one was there; it needs only to hear the warning call from another bird. The chickens’ calls are “functionally referential,” as behaviorists would say—meaning that they refer to specific objects and events broadly in the way that words used by people do. In a chicken hearing the calls, the sounds appear to create a mental picture of that particular object, prompting the bird to respond accordingly—whether to flee a predator or approach a food source.

Source: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-startling-intelligence-of-the-common-chicken/

COMPREHENSION QUICK CHECK

1. That magpies can recognize themselves in the mirror reflect what?

2. What are mentioned about the chicken’s cognitive ability in the second paragraph?

3. Describe the first breakthrough in scientific understanding of chickens’ behavior.

4. What does the second breakthrough involve?

5. Why is the chicken’s call described as ‘functionally referential’?

VOCABULARY

1. exhibit (v) to show clearly that you have or feel a particular feeling, quality or ability

The patient exhibited signs of fatigue and memory loss.

Birds, in particular, exhibit many remarkable skills.

2. cunning (a) describes people who are clever at planning something so that they get what they want, especially by tricking other people, or things that are cleverly made for a particular purpose

3. possess (v) to have or own something, or to have a particular quality

…it possesses communication skills…

4. on (a) par with: the same as or equal to someone or something

The regeneration of the city’s downtown dock front will put it on a par with Nice or Cannes.

…scientists have learned that this bird can be deceptive and cunning, that …it possesses communication skills on par with those of some primates …

5. sophisticated (a) clever in a complicated way and therefore able to do complicated tasks

…sophisticated signals…



6. prior (a) existing or happening before something else, or before a particular time

The course required no prior knowledge of Spanish.

They had to refuse the dinner invitation because of a prior engagement.

…the chicken takes into account its own prior experience…



7. empathize (v) to be able to understand how someone else feels

8. insight (n) a clear, deep and sometimes sudden understanding of a complicated problem or situation

It was an interesting book, full of fascinating insights into human relationships.

These new insights into the chicken mind hint that…

9. attribute (v) to believe or say that someone or something has a particular quality

One should not attribute human motives to animals.

…cognitive abilities traditionally attributed to primates alone…

10. ethical implication (n) suggestions on what should be done in a way that moral values are maintained

11. compel (v) to produce a strong feeling or reaction, sometimes unwillingly

…recognizing that chickens have these cognitive traits compels moral consideration…

12. evoke (v) to make someone remember something or feel an emotion

That smell always evokes memories of my old school.

…a detergent designed to evoke the fresh smell of summer…

13. onlooker (n) someone who watches something that is happening in a public place but is not involved in it

A crowd of curious onlookers soon gathered to see what was happening.

…evoke a particular response from onlookers…

14. rigorous (a) done carefully and with a lot of attention to detail

rigorous testing/checking/methods

…technology that allowed researchers to test their hypotheses more rigorously…

15. in essence: used when talking about the most basic and important part of something, especially an idea, belief, or argument

In essence his message was very simple.

In essence, they created a virtual reality for the birds…

16. revelation (n) when something is made known that was secret, or a fact that is made known

a moment of revelation

His wife divorced him after the revelation that he was having an affair.

Shocking revelations about their private life appeared in the papers.

This virtual reality led to a truly astonishing revelation…

17. prompt (v) to make something happen

The bishop’s speech has prompted an angry response from both political parties.

Recent worries over the president’s health have prompted speculation over his political future.

18. accordingly (adv) in a way that is suitable or right for the situation

When we receive your instructions we shall act accordingly.

She’s an expert in her field, and is paid accordingly.

…a mental picture of that particular object, promptingthe bird to respond accordingly…

19. flee (v) to escape by running away, especially because of danger or fear

She fled (from) the room in tears.

In order to escape capture, he fled to the mountains.

…whether to flee a predator or approach a food source…