As a proud owner of chickens, I was inspired to write an article about them to help us learn more about these creatures rather than view them just as producers of food. I do admit, that I got them for the sole intent of having fresh eggs daily, but later did discover more benefits that came with owning them. However, they can also be a bit of work. Chickens don’t seem like much work when you imagine them living in a keep behind your house, grazing for their own dinner and taking up little space. True, they don’t take up too much space, but that beautiful grass the run is set on is dug out within a week or so, depending on the space given and if they are free-range. But they are really beneficial creatures who earn their keep. Chickens are good to keep for their pest control, good fertilizer, serving as pets that live outside, can earn their own food, fun to watch, and of course their eggs.
Aside from what they can do for us, chickens have a load of interesting facts about them. First, chickens are social birds and form complex social structure, which we call “pecking order.” I have seen this in action many times while watching my own birds, it’s really quite interesting. Chickens have a good memory that help with pecking order as they can distinguish between 100 different faces of chickens (more than I would have thought). Chickens are also clean creatures that have a natural instinct to take a "dust bath." Dust bathing helps to keep the birds free of any lice and ultimately in good shape since lice can cause stress.
Another interesting fact about chickens is that they have REM cycles during their sleep. Which means, yeah, they dream. However, of what we are not quite sure yet, or may never be unless we can learn to speak chicken. But one can assume that these dreams may be of the imagery and experiences they see in their daily lives. Chickens also have another sleep cycle, one that humans lack, called unihemispheric slow-wave sleep(USWS). During this cycle of sleep, one half of a chicken's brain is asleep while the other half is awake. During this cycle of sleep, one eye is open while the other eye is closed. This is thought to be an evolutionary trait that gives the bird the ability to watch for predators. I understand that I would rather sleep with both of my eyes closed, though.
Chickens are also the closest living relative of the tyrannosaurus rex, according to Geobeats. One researcher had even attached a rod to a chicken to get a better idea of how the T-Rex walked. Pretty interesting, right? Well, I think the next fact about chickens is something we humans wish we may have: built-in birth control. During mating, a hen will take many roosters, given there is more than one present, but has the ability to decide which one will be the proud father. The hen has the ability to eject the sperm she doesn’t want. Another thing chickens are said to be able to do is to feel empathy. In an experiment done, a chick was blown with puffs of air while their mothers showed the same stress response as their chicks while observing their baby’s stress. Such good mothers.
These are a few great facts, but let's just agree that there are oh so many more. One was learning, after a fox attacked, that chickens can grow back large amounts of skin. I was sure surprised, anyway. But with digging deeper into the lives of these incredible birds, I cannot help but wonder more and appreciate them. They may be responsible for bringing me breakfast every morning, but there are much more to them than they let on.
