Forthisproject,wetookchicksandobservedtheirpersonalitiesfor3weeks.

Thepurpose
ofthisprojectwastoobservechickenspersonalitiesandhowtheyaffecttheflock.Weoriginally
startedwithaprojectthathadustoexperimentsonthechicksandseeinghowtheyreactedbut
oncewespenttimewiththechicksandsawhowdifferenteachchickwas,wedecidedtofocus
ondifferentbehaviorsandpersonalities.
Tostart,wedidresearchonchickenbehavior.Whiledoingresearchwefoundmany
sourcesstatingthatchickendidhavedifferentpersonalities.

PETA.orgshowsthatchickenshavedifferentsocialhierarchiesandculturalknowledgethat
passesdownfromgenerationtogeneration

Resources:

http://www.peta.org/issues/animalsusedforfood/factoryfarming/chickens/hiddenliveschicken
s/

Chickenslovetheirfamilieslikehumansdo
Chickensvaluetheirownlives
Everychickenhastheirownpersonality,aswesawwhenwedidtheproject
Theycancompletecomplexmentaltasks,learnfromwatchingeachother,demonstrate
selfcontrol,worryaboutthefuture,andevenhaveculturalknowledgethatispassedfrom
generationtogeneration.
Chickensunderstandthatsomethingstillexistsevenwhenitoutofview
Chickensshowsignsofadvancedintelligencebecauseoftheirabilitytocreatetheirownsocial
structure,orpeckingorderwhentheyarentconfinedtofactoryfarms
Theycanrememberabout100facesofotherchickens,andiftheystandaboveorbelow
thatchickenintherank
Chickenscanpassculturalknowledgeontonewgenerations
InonestudyatBristolUniversity,chickenswerefedamixtureofyellowandbluecorn
kernels.Thebluekernelsweretaintedwithchemicalsthatmadethebirdsfeelsick,and
theyquicklylearnedtoavoidthebluecornentirely.Whenthesehenshatchedchicks,
yellowandbluecornwasspreadaroundthefarm(thistimeharmless),andthemother
hensrememberedthatthebluecornhadpreviouslymadethemsick,sotheycarefully
steeredtheiryoungawayfromit.
Theyhavemorethan30vocalizationsthatcantelleachotherifathreatiscomingbylandor
water
Thehensteachtheiryoungthecallsbeforetheyevenhatch

http://freefromharm.org/farmanimalintelligence/thechickenstruenaturejealousy/

Chickenseemedtobejealouswhenoneoftheotherhenswasgettingattentionwithouther
Onlycertainchickenswanttobearoundhumans

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/410238.article

Differentchickenbreedsthatareouttogetherstilltendtohangaroundtogether
Chickenslearnfromwatchingeachother
Withourownchicks,onceonechickfiguredouthowtoflyoutifthesmallcage,the
othersquicklylearnedtoo,exceptforKevinwhowastoofattophysicallymakeitup
Chickenscreatetheirownhierarchies
Thisordersthechickensaswhohasthemostpower
Thechickensatthebottomoftheladdereatlast,unlesstheystealfood,whichinthatcase
theymightbepeckedbyallchickens

http://www.upconline.org/RedLens.html

RedContactLensesforChickens:
UnitedPoultryConcerns(UPC)investigateduseofpermanentredplasticlensesinlayinghens
SeniorstudentatCaliforniaPolytechnicUniversitydidexperiment
Employeescomplainedthatitwascausingsevereeyeinfections,abnormalbehaviorand
blindness
Preventshensfromclosingtheireyesnormallybecauseofthelargerlenses
Henswerepeckingtheairandrubbingtheirfacesrepeatedlyontheirwings
studentreportedthelensescausedalotofinfectionsinthehenseyesthat
progressivelyworsenedovertime
Lensesarenotplannedtoberecommendedforcommercialuse
Henshadnoveterinarycareduringtheexperiment
July1991severalhensweretakenandshowedtoavet
Lensessaidtocausecornealulcers
Ulcerscanruptureandleadtoblindness
Lensesweredesignedtoboosteggindustryincomebyreducingaggressivebehaviorinhens
Modernhenhousingdealswithcannibalisminhens
Theyamputatepartofthebeakwithahotbladeafterbirthtotryandstopthepeckingof
otherchickens
Thishasntreallyhelpedtoendmortalitybypecking
Lensesaredesignedtocalmthehensbymakingeverythingappearthecolorofblood
Hensdontlaymoreeggswiththelenses,buttheyconvertfoodmoreefficientlyandsave
feedingcosts
Lensesaremadeofnongaspermeablemoldedmaterialbutdonotallowtheeyetobreathe
HumanLenses:Directlyoncornea
ChickenLenses:Abovethenictitatingmembrane(chickensthirdeyelidthathelpskeeptheeye
cleanandmoist)
Debeakingandlensesarebothanabusivesubstitute

http://www.slideshare.net/mpriscilla/opticaldistortioninc

OpticalDistortion:
Lensesdiscoveredbyaccidentwhentherewasaflockwithaseverecataractproblemthatmade
birdseatlessandbecomeeasiertohandle
ODIlensesmadetopartiallyblindchickens
Withthelensesthebirdhaditsdepthperceptionandvisualactivitygreatlyreduced
1stproducttoreduce50%cannibalismoverdebeaking

Pros
1.Significantcannibalismreduction

1.Difficulttogetdeeppenetrationinfomarket

2.Traumaelimination

2.Manufacturingcostofhydrophilicpolymer

3.Feedcostreduction

3.Farmersresistancetoadoptnewtechnology

4.Timeandcostsavings

4.Profitablebusinessonlyformedium/large
farms

5.Lensescantbereused

Cons

MarketPenetration
62%forflocksize50,000andabove
38%forflocksize20,00049,000

http://www.ted.com/talks/margaret_heffernan_why_it_s_time_to_forget_the_pecking_order_at_work

Speaker:
MargaretHeffernan
Chickenexperiment
MainQuestion:Whatcouldmakemychickensmoreproductive?
EvolutionaryBiologistatPurdueUniversitynamedWilliamMuir
1flockregularchickens
Aftersixgenerations,regularchickensweregreatandhadreallygoodegg
production
1flockofthebest,mostproductivechickens
Aftersixgenerations,allbutthreeofthechickensweredeadbecausetheother
oneshadpeckedthemtodeath

SuperFlock
Similartolife
Peoplearealwaystoldtogettothetopandbethebest
Havingranks(onepersoninchargeofeveryoneelse)
Notequalranks(Bossesandthenemployees)
Studentexperiment
Groupofstudentsputtogetherandgivenhardproblemstosolve
Highachievinggroupswerentgroupswith12highIQstudentsorhighaggregateIQ
3Characteristicswithinthemostsuccessfulgroups
Goodsocialsensitivity
Eachpersonspentequaltimeontheproblems(therewasntonepersondoingall
theworkandotherssittingwatching
Morewomeninthesuccessfulgroups
Keytoworkingtogethersuccessfullyissocialconnectancewitheachother
EquestrianCenterExperiment
Engineerassignedtofindoutwhatquantitytoaccountforfor200racehorsecomingin
toBeijingfortheOlympics
Doinglotsofresearchtofigureitoutwouldtakemonthbutwhentheengineeraskeda
memberoftheJockeyClub,hegothisanswerinoneday
SocialCapital:relianceandinterdependencethatbuildstrust
Itswhatgivecompaniesmomentum
Teamsthatworktogetherlongerworkbetter
Youdonthavetobegoodateverything,youjusthavetoworkwithpeoplethatarewillingto
help
Powercanbedisruptive
Whathappensbetweeneachotherreallycounts
Cultureofhelpfulnessisessentialtosuccess
Companiesdonthaveideas,peopledo
Conflictisfrequentbecausecandorissafe