THE SURPRISING BEAUTY OF ANIMAL LEARNING NOW

Do you think chickens are very smart? Do you think they are particularly beautiful? We are sharing results of a new study that will likely surprise you, as well as some images that are sure to delight you. Check it out below.

Our attitudes towards animals are related to what we believe about their intelligence and their capacity to feel emotion. The more intelligent and emotional they are, the more we respect and care about them.

A recent study, conducted by the School of Animal & Veterinary Sciences, at the University of Adelaide, found that chickens are way smarter than most people think. They can learn! And, they have emotions!

These new findings have important implications for how humans interact with and behave towards chickens and other animals.

Students of the “Principles in Animal Behaviour, Welfare & Ethics” class, were surveyed on their animal training skills, as well as on their attitudes towards chickens, before they conducted the learning experiments. Most agreed that chickens were not very smart and had no feelings or personalities.

The students endeavored to teach chickens, using both non-associative (habituation & sensitization) and associative (conditioning) learning techniques.  

They trained the chickens to peck on a target (a colored circle) and then to discriminate the targets by color (red vs green circles). The chickens learned that only when they pecked at the “correct” color, they would receive a click, immediately followed by a pellet of food. 

Turns out, chickens can learn tricks! They also can feel happiness, boredom, frustration, and other basic emotions.

The study confirmed that a greater knowledge of the cognitive abilities and emotional capacities of an animal may lead to more positive attitudes towards that animal.

This new knowledge can help in many ways, from routine husbandry procedures to animal training, improving results and lowering stress levels for both the animals and the humans who care for them. 

At the conclusion of the classes were re-homed in small free range holdings.

Perhaps this new knowledge might influence your choices to eat free-range vs caged-produced eggs or chicken meat?

Read more about Beautiful Learning, as it relates to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact including Beautiful Learnings From Beautiful Books Now.

 

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IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Image: by Wee Viraporn. Handsome Rooster.
2. Image: by Holly Occhipinti. Friends Forever.
3. Image: by WindRanch. Mother Clucker.
4. Image: by Mark Peters Photography. Star Gazing Farm.
5. Image: by Sarah Shoesmith, of The Gardening Shoe. The Grys Farm.
6. Image: by Anne Petersen. Baby Chick Hatchery at the Museum of Science and Industry.
7. Image: by Ron Cogswell. Crowing Rooster -- The Feral Chickens of Kaua'i Limahuli Tropical. Botanical Gardens Hanalei Kaua'i (HI).
8. Image: by StormPetrel1. Morning Surprise.
9. Image: by Vicki DeLoach. Golden Rooster.
10. Image: by Paulinskill River Photography. Roosty.
11. Image: by U.S. Department of Agriculture. A Rooster.
12. Image: by Marji Beach. Finnigan is Beautiful.
13. Image: by Oregon Department of Agriculture. Colorful Rooster.
14. Image: by BN App - Download now!
15. Image: by tsaiian. 公雞. Rooster.