Once in a blue moon a chicken will do something at least vaguely suggestive of learning ability. It’s virtually always food-related.
I started breakfast and noticed that my remaining bread is about to go moldy, which settled the question of whether this should be a baking day. Meanwhile the chickens, who had already been fed, were raising cain outside as if they were being deprived of something. From the way they stacked up in the corner when I opened the back door, they were expecting a bread treat. It’s possible I’ve been overindulging them – the new back door does make tossing treats easier than before.
So I opened the door and tossed a piece of bread to the far side of the chicken yard, and three of the four hens made a mad dash for it. The fourth remained exactly where she was, and the second chunk landed at her feet. She grabbed it and ran, with three hens in hot pursuit. 🙂
So, is that fourth one smarter than the other three or merely less observant?
🙂 Hard to say, really…