Found out my chickens can recognize over 100 different faces

I was reading some random poultry science blog last night while waiting for my eggs to boil, and I stumbled on a study that said chickens can identify up to 100 human faces. I always thought my girls just screamed at anyone who walked by, but apparently they remember who feeds them and who doesn't. My neighbor Bob came over to borrow a rake yesterday and my hen Gertrude actually followed him around clucking softly. Has anyone else noticed their flock acting differently around certain people?

2 comments

2 Comments

eric_murphy3613h ago

That actually makes a lot of sense when you think about it evolutionarily. Birds in the wild need to tell friend from foe to survive, so it's probably an ancient skill that our domesticated chickens still have.

ross.river12h ago

Wait, so you're saying chickens can actually recognize human faces? I always thought that was just people projecting onto their pets, but you're making a solid case for it being a survival thing from their wild ancestors. That genuinely changes how I look at my own flock now, never really considered it that way before.