Brain like a chicken. Almost every person who at least once heard this statement, voluntarily or involuntarily wondered: does the chicken have brains?
Having “rummaged” as it should in this matter, scientists found out quite interesting facts that could change a person’s attitude to such a seemingly stupid creature.
The role of the chicken brain
The chicken’s brain along with the spinal, nerve processes and fibers represents the nervous system of the winged individual. It consists of the cerebellum, the anterior, middle and diencephalon. The hemispheres are responsible for the orientation of the bird in space and the realization of its instincts. The cerebellum controls the coordination of movements.
There are no gyrus in the small hemispheres of the brain, which is the reason to think that in chickens brains are something insignificant and insignificant. It took scientists more than a century to figure out what was going on in the head of the chickens, in order to reach stunning conclusions.
Chicken Brain: Signal System
The chicken repertoire has about 24 complex signals, each of which is used in accordance with the situation. In support of their guesses, in the 1990s, scientists conducted the following experiment: installed audio recording devices and high-resolution television screens around cells with home birds to identify the meaning of the sounds of chicken speech. Thus, a virtual reality was created for the birds, in which the latter had to contact various individuals: a running fox, a flying hawk, a rooster relative.
During the experiment, it was found that it is not necessary for the chicken to show a predator to obtain a specific reaction. It is enough for her to hear the warning signal of another bird so that the chicken’s brain draws an image of the corresponding object, prompting to perform a certain action (for example, to run to the feeder or to escape from a predator).
Election tactics
In an attempt to find the answer to the question “do chickens have brains”, the researchers found that domesticated birds send signals depending on who is next to them. For example, a rooster will raise an alarm in case of a threat if there are females nearby, while with a congener-competitor it will remain silent. Female chickens also behave selectively: the alarm will be raised if there is a nearby brood of young animals.
Consequently, the sounds emitted by chickens do not contain the primitive “I'm hungry” or “I'm scared”; the bird delves into the meaning of current events, responds to them not reflexively, but with the help of clearly thought out actions. The presence of a system of conscious signals in chicken communication indicates the complexity and development of their thought process.
One interesting question can be asked from here: if the chicken’s brain is able to share information about current events, can a bird use such information in a distorted form, for its own benefit?
Pecking order
Chickens have a certain hierarchical system called the “pecking order”. The bird defends the dominant position in its community, rewarding with blows to the beak of relatives of a lower rank, which are decided on actions that do not correspond to their status.
In each group of curies there is an alpha male, constantly confirming his supremacy in every possible way. It is he who arranges the main dance if he finds a tidbit, and warns the rest when danger is approaching. But what about the rest of the males? After all, they cannot assume the same functions, so as not to incur the wrath of the leader cock. But after all, chicken brains are not just given to domestic birds!
The trick of the chickens
A series of sophisticated experiments revealed that such a quality as cunning is present in the chicken environment. For example: to attract a lady, an alpha male arranges a show dance with complex elements and makes certain inviting sounds. Roosters with a lower hierarchical position use hidden tactics: only the motor part is performed in the dance, and it is completely silent, which does not give rise to aggressive attacks from the alpha male.
It is known that chickens love to hide among thickets and tall grass, which is especially true in the case of an approaching threat. It was noticed that the males trumpet about the danger while in the bushes, while their rival calmly walks around the open square in front of the approaching predator. Thus, the cunning cock immediately reaches two goals: it protects its female and gets rid of the opponent. This type of behavior in science is called “risk compensation” and is also characteristic of a person who assumes more responsibility in the presence of “mitigating” circumstances. For example, a driver wearing a seat belt harnesses the gas pedal harder.
Empathy
Hens can empathize. This fact was proved by one experiment in which the brood hens and their brood participated. Young animals received safe and painless blows with an air stream that only ruffled their plumage, and perceived this action as a threat. There were all the signs of stress: a drop in temperature, a rapid heartbeat.
Mothers, observing the reaction of the chickens, began to experience the same stress, expressing it with anxiety and clucking, although they themselves did not feel the tremors of air and saw that the chicks were not in danger. Therefore, it can be assumed that hens are able to put themselves in the place of relatives. Such a specific feature of behavior - empathy, was previously attributed to a certain number of species, which include crows and squirrels (and, naturally, humans).
Chickens are able to think
Probably, rationality is inherent in the animal world to a somewhat greater degree than previously thought. Hens could inherit their cognitive gift from a wild relative - a banker jungle chicken, an inhabitant of South Asian forests. In conditions of high competition within the flock and many external threats, the bird's mind was forced to develop in devising various rescue strategies and instant response to the situation. All these traits were inherited by domesticated chickens.
Scientists are only at the beginning of the path to understanding the true essence of the type of mind inherent in chickens. But one fact is already beyond doubt: common sayings such as “chicken brains”, “stupid like a chicken” now lose all meaning.