Are your chickens smarter than you?

[Love Donkeys]

Have your chickens found a way back onto your porch? Or did they finally take the hint?

A few of the braver hens still hop the gate and peek through the glass of the patio door. As soon as they hear the door start to open they take off. They know the "crazy lady" with the broom is coming!

 

[z3lda3]

A few of the braver hens still hop the gate and peek through the glass of the patio door. As soon as they hear the door start to open they take off. They know the "crazy lady" with the broom is coming!

I’m the crazy lady with the pool noodle. I’ve never went after my chickens with it, but they hate it! Pool noodle or hawk, they act the same way lol. Maybe it’s the color blue??

 

[Love Donkeys]

Have your chickens found a way back onto your porch? Or did they finally take the hint?

Around 3pm they start hanging out at the base of the porch steps. Then, I think they draw straws to see who is going to fly over the barriers and knock on the back door. They all take off when I come out with the broom. They're like kids playing tricks on Halloween.

 

[Squawkers]

My free-range chickens kept coming up on the back porch and pecking at the door looking for treats. Their pecking sounded like someone knocking on the door. They would leave smelly piles while they impatiently waited. I decided to put an end to their shenanigans and take back my porch.

I covered the existing railings with orange plastic mesh and put new railings on the stairs. They crawled under the railings. I fabricated a fancy chicken barrier below the new railings. I put up a gate at the beginning of the steps. They crawled under it. I lowered the gate. They crawled between the openings of the steps. I cut cattle panel and secured it to the back of the open steps. The whole time I was working on the chicken proof project there was always a few chickens watching. My husband said they were taking notes. After two weeks of building and modify my chickens are finial behaving themselves and staying off the porch.View attachment 3856877View attachment 3856879View attachment 3856880

This is hilarious because the exact thing happened to me. We have a little gate at the end of the steps, but they just crawled under the railing. Then I put something under it, then they flew over. I finally gave up and I have this (and plenty of poop) to look forward to

 

[ChickenCanoe]

The short answer is - absolutely.
They are smart with a good memory and knowledge which comes from a million years of ingrained instinct.

I'm replying to my own post just to elaborate.
They are way smarter than us in chicken related things. However, they don't need to know how to drive a car, create a spreadsheet, make a 5 course dinner or even read a book. That stuff wouldn't fit into those little heads.