Chickens can count

Just saw it on TV but here's a link to an article in The Telegraph

The counting ability of the animals was "impressive", they said. In tests the chicks were shown a set of objects, in this case identical small balls, in groups of either two or three. In one of the experiments the chicks choose consistently to walk towards a group of three balls rather than a group of two. When the ball were hidden behind a screen, but one of the balls could be seen being passed from the larger group to the smaller one, the chicks were still able to identify which group now contained three objects. "The results of the experiments showed that, in the absence of any specific training, chicks spontaneously discriminated between two and three, in both cases preferring the larger set," according to the study. "Chicks behaviour (also) seemed to indicate an ability to perform additions," it added.

Originally published on this site - somewhere link

A new one on me but apparently there are a few studies/experiments already.

This does not prove they can consciously count.. They are just attracted to the larger number of objects..

Maybe it's like a pile of corn, their brains are hard wired to go to the biggest pile..

They also cheat at Tic-tac-toe.

Additionally they taste great deep fried with hot sauce

They can play baseball too!

a reply to: johnb

Most animals will go for the larger amount of food when presented with 2 different quantity's. All that really means is that they can quantify differences. Its not like Clucky the bird is going to be performing quadratic equations any time soon.

In the experiment I watched they put 5 balls behind a screen then moved either 2 or 3 to behind a different screen - in view of the chicken.

The chickens mostly pick the larger pile they cannot see.

The only way i can see how they (or anything else) is doing this, is to add (original 5 hidden behind 1st screen) then subtract either 2 or 3 depending how many are moved to behind the other screen.


Edit to add - its not food - they are using plastic bubble/ball things.

originally posted by: johnb
Just saw it on TV but here's a link to an article in The Telegraph

The counting ability of the animals was "impressive", they said. In tests the chicks were shown a set of objects, in this case identical small balls, in groups of either two or three. In one of the experiments the chicks choose consistently to walk towards a group of three balls rather than a group of two. When the ball were hidden behind a screen, but one of the balls could be seen being passed from the larger group to the smaller one, the chicks were still able to identify which group now contained three objects. "The results of the experiments showed that, in the absence of any specific training, chicks spontaneously discriminated between two and three, in both cases preferring the larger set," according to the study. "Chicks behaviour (also) seemed to indicate an ability to perform additions," it added.

Originally published on this site - somewhere

link

A new one on me but apparently there are a few studies/experiments already.

Do they count their own chickens before they hatch?

They are all solemnly counting the factory farm deaths, and have scouts at every KFC, taking down license plates.

One day, their wait shall be over and woe to the carnivores!

Lol. Chickens rate very, very low on Intelligence scales. I mean LOW. Maybe slightly higher than an earthworm. lol.
They must be making some kind of visual association, or instinctively drawn to the larger pile, rather than making a judgment based on intellectual reasoning methinks.

#chickensaredumbasrocks

originally posted by: andy06shake
a reply to: johnb

Most animals will go for the larger amount of food when presented with 2 different quantity's. All that really means is that they can quantify differences. Its not like Clucky the bird is going to be performing quadratic equations any time soon.

There have been numerous studies showing that birds can count (there's actually studies having pigeons doing math), rather than just evaluate one quantity as larger than the other. Dogs and cats can do the same thing.

Humans just like to delegitimize the intelligence of their food, because people don't like the concept that they're killing something intelligent. In America we kill cows and look on dogs as intelligent. In India they kill dogs and see cows as intelligent.

a reply to: Aazadan

Well it's a possibility, i give you that, i mean my Dog pretty much understands just about everything i say, or so it seems.

Through if they can count i strongly suspect its not in the same manner that we do. Then again possibly that's just Human arrogance at play.

a reply to: ladyinwaiting

The 'piles' of balls are hidden individually behind a screen so the chicken must count to know which screen the bigger pile will be behind. See earlier reply

So chickens are smarter than some humans...

It has been a while since I've read these studies on animal intelligence, but you can't compare a chicken to a parrot, cockatiel, parakeet ---- or raven, or pigeon, anymore than you can compare a dolphin or shark to a guppy. It's not the same thing... You see chicken, and you think "bird" and we all know how intelligent birds are.

Parrots and many other birds are highly intelligent, in fact, shockingly so.

So are dogs and cats, but again, not comparable.

I haven't looked at these studies in a decade, but this OP is an interesting study. I might be 'reacting' on an emotional level as well, because I would wish for chickens to be so stupid they are essentially blind to the fact of how vilely and inhumanely we treat them. I will give this a closer look. Thanks.