Thinking like an animal is not always easy, especially if you’re trying to think like a chicken. In this article, I want to dive into one of the single biggest tensions in raising farmstead egg-laying chickens, and it all stems from chicken psychology.
Like all animals, chickens love routine. Temple Grandin, maven of animal psychology, points out that animals live only in the moment. Yes, they have memory, but they have no datebook. They never think about what they need to do tomorrow.
Everything is about instant gratification. No chicken ever said to her friends, “That hen is kind of small and timid; let’s let her have first go at the feeder, and the rest of us ladies will join her later.” You’ll never see that happen. Henpecked is a real thing. Sometimes they eat each other. Animals always eat dessert first, they are all bullies, and they don’t like change.
Temple Grandin says chickens live so much in the moment that they notice the color of your hat. They notice what kind of clothes you’re wearing and your facial demeanor. Let it be established once and for all: chickens like routine. They don’t like different. To be sure, they like chasing down worms in different locations, but they’re not thinking about their location; they’re just eating worms. The moment is all that matters. While chasing down worms, the hen may have no idea she just traversed a hundred yards. Sometimes they look up with a lost look. Most of the time, they want to be where they are accustomed.
What that means is that laying hens want a secure home. They don’t want you to change coops on them. They want to sleep in the same spot every night. They want to lay eggs in the same place every day. Don’t confuse routine with discovery. Chickens have unlimited time to scope out new and interesting places. That’s part of their routine, just like a goat’s routine is trying to figure out a more clever way to escape.
Keep reading: https://news.gab.com/2023/11/confessions-of-a-steward-chicken-familiarity/