How do my chickens know when I have food?

[NC_Quail]

When I bring treats outside for my chickens they always seem to know when I have something. They will come up running to me if they see I’m holding something. They even seem to know when I have mealworms, specifically, as they show more interest then. This is before I’ve given them any. Does this mean that they can smell it? Can they really look at me and tell that I’m holding something, even when I’m just walking around? What I find hardest to wrap my head around is that they can recognize when I have mealworms vs other treats. This is quite a mystery to me. Does anyone have any input, or am I going crazy?

 

[azygous]

Chicken radar and advance scouts. Maybe a little ESP. But, no, not smell.

Seriously, chickens are geniuses at memorizing repeated patterns. They note the following and plug it into their internal data bases:

Time of day
The specific containers, shape, size and color
The door where you exit
Sounds
Associations of all of the above
Your hair style and fashion sense

Well, the last one we only suspect but have only flimsy proof so it remains conjecture.

 

[samanthaoverton]

They are telepathic mine know when dinner time is and hang around the door..or if they hear me talking run to the door

 

[Shevraeth]

I think mine are just always super hopeful. They know that sometimes I have treats, so they have to come check just to make sure.

But, they've also figured out the containers I use- the white bowl means yogurt or cottage cheese, and they're ALL over that. The orange bag is BSF larvae, and that's pretty exciting. The tall white container means greens, and that's not as exciting, but they still follow me.

 

[LizGio]

Mine are like this when the pizza delivery guy walks up the yard, no lie... My son, soon to be 5, is known to drop food here and there. They've had an occasional taste of it and I guess they recognize the box now? They picked up on that rather quickly....

 

[Tonyroo]

Chickens have really good eyesight and memorization. Hence why they prefer predictability.

 

[raingarden]

They live in a brutally competitive world. If you want to eat you have to be first on the scene. You will never be first on the scene unless you react to every possibility.

 

[Red Horse]

Mine just assume I have them and settle for a pet if I don't. But I can't bend over in the garden anymore without them getting all excited because they see me and think I'm pulling some lettuce greens and sorrel for them.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Like many domesticated animals they learn to recognize the patterns and signs of humans potentially bringing out food. Mine know if I walk in the direction of their run, to be prepared for something tasty raining out of the sky, which is why they'll stand there, mouth agape, and wait for something to bonk them on their heads.