Chicken Memory

dinosaw

dinosaw

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Mother Leghorn has finally got fed up of her chicks and upon being released made a beeline for her old flock and has roosted back in her old house tonight. That has been 9 weeks since she was taken away from the flock so it just goes to show how much chickens do remember and are remembered by their old friends.
 
We've found the extent of chicken's memory varies tremendously Dinosaw. We had two Buff Orpington sisters in a flock and separated one for observation for just 24 hours. When she was returned her sister attacked her as an intruder! Generally two weeks is the limit before the flock forgets them I'd say, so 9 weeks is impressive.
 
At the time she was third bottom out of seven hens plus one cock but I have since merged four extra birds into that flock plus Gameboy joining of his own volition . It's an interesting time as I am now letting what were three separate flocks free range without barrier to each other, they keep to their own patches and generally ignore each other but interestingly if there is encroachment it is into the big birds territory and not vice versa.
 
I'm very interested at the moment in the integration process for the two POL pullets I bought 3 weeks ago and have been keeping behind a mesh screen in the run, where they could see the others but not mingle. Both have now started to lay and have grown quite a bit, so I thought it was time to try. As usual I put them overnight into the main coop, after roosting time.
Next morning I observed Nutmeg, the oldest (5) hen, teaching each of them who was boss. The little Columbian Blacktail just sat down submissively and took the rain of pecks without running away. The very flighty Leghorn got into a panic and flapped around, attracting attention from the others, who then joined in. Meanwhile, CB had a quiet feed of pellets whilst nobody was watching. After the initial fusillade, the top hen seemed to restrict her discipline to hard stares and nudges, with just a short , decisive sideways peck if either got too close, which is how she generally manages her flock. Being a Cream Legbar, she's the smallest bird, but has immense dignity, like the Queen really.
Halfway through the morning, they were both looking for the shelter they'd been using in the end part of the run, which I had removed, and the CB was evidently trying to lay in the usual spot, surrounded by a group of unfriendly staring hens, so I closed the coop and put both of them in the nestboxes for half an hour. CB settled down immediately, and I could hear the Leghorn bumbling about in the darkness. Half an hour later, all was quiet so I opened up, result, two eggs. Next day, they both found their own way in and laid OK. I suppose, if you've been plucked out of bed when you're asleep and put in a new bedroom, it's hard for a chicken brain to find the entrance to the new, more palatial accommodation at the far end of the run!
During the day, I noticed the other two hens each taking on the new ones and showing them their superior place in the pecking order. My other leghorn, who is now 4, was the nastiest, and surprisingly, the bird who has been bottom hen in the older three has been comparatively friendly. Previously, I've found the bottom one to be the most aggressive, in order to impress the others about her 'promotion.'
What has been most striking is the common sense of the CB, who has been quietly working her way in to the group and being careful not to give offence whilst beginning to join in at the edges, whilst the Leghorn is still getting panicky and flying around, hence getting chased far worse. This was evident when I put down the corn and greens on the treats plate in the afternoon - CB got a few cautious beakfuls, neck to neck with the others, whilst the Leghorn didn't dare approach. I then put them back behind the screen for an hour, with their own plateful, and the leghorn ate ravenously. I don't think she had been relaxed enough to feed properly during the day.
At roosting time, the CB went in to the coop with the others, but I had to collect the leghorn from where she was all alone on a very uncomfortable perch,squashed high up on a narrow beam in the roof, and put her in. I think I shall have to do this for quite some time until one night she will surprise me by being in the coop with the others when I go down!
On the second day, they each found their way in to lay, so I shan't need to shut them up to do this. The atmosphere in the run is still uneasy, and there's the occasional aggressive chasing, but no blood has been shed and I expect the flock to settle down OK within a few more days. But I definitely think CBs are much more intelligent than leghorns!
 
Blacktails are surprisingly rational aren't they. Mine does a funny thing where she gets in a submissive position then reverses out of trouble - usually until she bumps into something because she can't see where she's going in reverse. Then tries a differnt approach to what she wants.
That's a fascinating thing your doing there Dinosaw -so they are all free ranging but with 4 coops/flocks to be members of? Cool!
 
I'm also wondering whether, as well as her natural flightiness attracting attention, part of the leghorn's problems is down to her colour - she's a strikingly white bird, and all the others are some kind of brown or grey, including the older brown leghorn. In the past I had a lot of trouble integrating a pair of white ISA hybrids, not at all flighty birds, into a group of black/brown hens. Maybe is a sort of racist reaction to a bird they think of as 'not a proper chicken"? Has anyone else noticed this reaction to a different colour from what perhaps they had never seen before if they grew up in a flock with all-similar colouring?
 
There is definite racism along the lines of white birds versus others. I think birds will generally separate themselves along lines of colour, breed and shared experience (growing up or being introduced to a flock together). Even in birds who have grown up together from chicks you will see a tendency to towards grouping into the same breed.

I don't think that Leghorns are less intelligent Marigold, just temperamentally different. They are very vocal, flighty and emotional birds, still able to roost in trees and their low body weight and high speed make them more capable of surviving without human help in the form of secure housing and pelleted feeds than most breeds. I suppose what I'm trying to say is they resemble wild chickens more closely and therefore will exhibit suspicion to a much greater extent than the breeds that have been raised to make them easy to keep from a human perspective, in some ways that makes them more intelligent.
 
Fourth coop/flock is the 10 chicks/growers so they are still confined to run at the moment but I will probably let them out when they get into the teens in terms of weeks. It has been incredibly trouble free in terms of squabbling, the main LF flock have simply curtailed themselves from going to the extent of their natural territory so that they rarely mingle and when they do it rarely goes beyond a stand off.
 
My theory re birds of a different colour is along the lines of recognition of individuals. When I'm watching the flock wander around, and knowing which are friends (like or tolerate each other) or ones where the pecking order is strongly active - it's amusing to see them cross into each others space.
It does seem right to me that, because of having a 'smartie' shaped eye, their focal range is quite short (within about 3 to 4 feet) and you can see them go for a chase and peck as they cross the radius.
Birds of a distinctive colour though are more easily recognisable at greater distances and so attract attention.
So maybe that's the answer to racial disharmony in the world - give everyone bottle bottom glasses!
 
I've noticed that even different flocks will preen together in harmony. Perhaps it is safety in numbers on the basis that the more there are the more likely that one will spot a predator whilst the others have their eyes shut and heads under feathers?

We had 4 flocks running free range together. The cockerel ran himself ragged sorting out disputes and eventually injured his foot in the process. So that's a situation we have since avoided.
 
I've just given the leghorn a nice new comfortable extra-high perch just under the 2-metre high roof. None of the others except perhaps the older brown leghorn could fly up to it, and it will be interesting to see if the older bird does, in fact, exert herself to do so. Is there any reason why I should bother to go on training the pullet to go in the coop at night, if she prefers this dry perch?
You're right about temperamental differences in leghorns, of course, Dinosaw. Similar perhaps to terriers, - compared with many other breeds, terriers are very independent and much harder to train to the sort of 'obedience' valued in the dog competition world. They prefer to go off exploring by themselves and to get into trouble down badger setts etc. Norfolk terriers in particular are known to have practically no reliable recall and zero understanding of traffic - a fact which, sadly, cost the life of our first Norfolk. But very loving and loyal little dogs, all the same.
 
I guess it's going to extend the time it takes to integrate her Marigold (but always seems possible given enough time). Can you also put a shelf at about 1m high with food and water. The others may invade it but they can't be everywhere. The answer for me has always been partitions, circular routes to escape and lots of bowls for food and water. Just at the point the clutter is driving me mad they settle in and I take it all down again.
 
Yes I wondered about the integration aspect too, Rick. I do think that her sleeping in contact with the others may be helpful. I've decided to go down and put her in the coop every night for the next two weeks, if I find she hasn't gone in with the others at the right time. If she's still roosting on the high perch after that, I may let her get on with it, as its dry and sheltered under the roof. My run does have lower perches along most of the long side, plus 2/3 of the end is permanently partitioned by mesh frames, with a mesh door when needed which is normally left open, plus other hiding places and circulation/escape routes, such as the roof of the coop for those agile enough to get up there, and various feed and water stations. This afternoon, I could almost see her sighing with relief, up on the new high perch on her own, preening and then having a peaceful doze. The brown leghorn has been particularly nasty to her today, and I could see her eyeing up the new perch, trying to decide if it was worth the effort of getting up there herself, at her age!
When I look at them all, I do realise how very different she is in shape as well as colour and temperament, such a beautiful snowy white bird with a lovely upright tail and gorgeous cherry-red folded comb, among four other subtle-coloured brown and grey ones. No wonder they don't know what to make of her!
 
Interesting day today. Both new pullets seem to be more tolerated and there's much less chasing and bullying going on. The white leghorn pullet even comes straight up to me when I go into the run, presumably having worked out that I'm the 'corn lady.' Today, she was so quick to do this that she accidentally slipped out of the door before I'd closed it. I stood there wondering how on earth to get her back in before she flew up into the trees, no chance of chasing and catching her in the garden, and was just shaking the corn box hopefully to encourage her to return, when our terrier appeared out of nowhere, chased her back in for me - and then got in the run herself, something she's always wanted to do! Pandemonium - I had to take a few seconds to get back in there myself and shut the door behind me, by which time Poppy was joyfully chasing five panicking chickens all over the place, lots of flapping, cackling and barking, until I managed to grab and eject her. Nobody was hurt and they all settled down remarkably fast once I produced the corn and cabbage!
 
Presumably, they will all (Poppy included) remember the high jinks and be ready for act II tomorrow :)
 
Result! Day 6 of going down after dark to collect the leghorn from her high perch and put her to roost in the coop.
At 9.00 the old hens were all tucked up in the coop, and the two pullets were talking to each other, trying to pluck up courage to go up the scary ramp.
At 10.00, my second visit, no sign of the leghorn pullet! She had crept in to the coop all by herself and was sitting just inside the pophole, not perched but presumably ready for a quick exit in the morning.

When I go in with the corn box, she now flies up to the coop roof, where the others don't go, fixes me with her orange eye, then looks meaningfully at the corn box. Then she takes her share from my hand, whilst the others are fussing below in frustration. This bird is brighter than I thought.
 
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