Contrary to their reputation, chickens are not stupid, cowardly, or pure evil.  For the most part that is.  Chickens are much more complex than they may seem to someone who isn’t familiar with them.  

   You have probably heard the phrase “pecking order” before, and it’s something all flocks of chickens do naturally.  The pecking order is the hierarchical system in all chicken flocks that determines their rank among each other.  Chickens that are higher in the pecking order get to eat first, pick their spot to lay eggs, roost at night, and just about anything else they want to do.

   Their social capabilities extend further than just this.  Mother hens teach their offspring behaviors as well as what is edible and what is not.  Mother hens also talk to their chicks before they even hatch.  As the chick develops in the egg, they begin to peep back to their mothers which establish a bond before birth.

   And contrary to popular belief, there is the actual meaning behind all the sounds they make!  With over thirty different sounds they make, the meanings range between alerting the rest of the flock, excitement, fear, pain, warning others to leave them alone, and much more.

   Unlike their fearful stereotype, chickens can prove to be rather bold.  They are quite the opportunists, especially if they are lower in the pecking order.  And when it comes to protecting their young, there’s nothing like a mother hen’s instinct.  

   While some chickens seem to have been born with the burning desire to kill people, socialized chickens can build strong and loving relationships with people like most household pets.  They have been known to even show affection towards people they become close with.  

   Chickens are also much more intelligent than they may seem.  Studies have shown that chickens have the ability to exercise self-control when it comes to food if they know they’ll get more for leaving it.  They also can learn their names, the voices of their people, as well as over one hundred different chickens they are housed with.

   They have also proven that they have the capability of showing empathy.  Mother hens have been known to look out for not just their own chicks, but the chicks of other hens as well.  In some cases, chickens higher in the pecking order have also been kinder to chickens lower than them, even protecting them from the others on occasion.