If someone could work out a way to produce chickens that can be reliably toilet-trained they would make great pets.
They're pretty smart, can be very friendly and (not many people know this) they actually smell nice - kind of like a new puppy smell.
They're pretty smart, can be very friendly and (not many people know this) they actually smell nice - kind of like a new puppy smell.
https://bitchinchickens.com/2023/04/03/chicken-diapers-dos-d...
Fun biology fact: birds can't control their n.1 and n.2 because anything that they would potentially store would make them heavier for flight
I'm skeptical that they can be considered "pretty smart" - your expected intelligence level has to be pretty low to be surprised by a chicken's brain. If you anticipate little more than an unfeeling, unthinking plant - yeah, they've got emotional and social capacity, will bond with humans, and they can occasionally be clever when sufficiently motivated, but they're not the sharpest bulbs in the barn.
This is a fair point. My coop has 6 nesting boxes, and it definitely seems as if one or two are designated "toilet cubicles".
>>I'm skeptical that they can be considered "pretty smart"
By "pretty smart" I'm not talking dolphins or chimps. I think they are at least as smart as a comparative pet such as a rabbit or a guinea pig.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-startling-int...