Chickens are Amazing, Intelligent, and Affectionate Animals

Some of the things to love about chickens. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.

Chickens, which are descended from dinosaurs, are amazing, intelligent, and affectionate animals. Here are some things you might not have known about these adorable birds.

• They can solve problems, understand cause and effect, and anticipate and plan for the future.
• Mother hens begin to teach calls to their babies when they are still in their eggs. Later, they teach their chicks what is safe to eat and how to avoid grains that can harm them.
• Chickens can also differentiate violet and ultraviolet light. Because they are so sensitive to infrared light, chickens can see sunlight up to an hour before humans do.
• Chickens also experience REM sleep, which means they can dream.
• They are pretty athletic with their abilities to jump and fly.  In fact, they can run up to 9 miles an hour. The longest distance flown is about 300 feet.
• Chickens also have great memories and facial recognition skills. They can recognize and distinguish more than 100 faces, animals, and humans.

Listen to Cathy Isom’s This Land of Ours program here.