[pelagicAustral]

Yeah, probably not the same at all.

When I was kid I used to work summers on a family-owned free-range chicken farm. I remember being fascinated by the behavior of chickens. I also spent a lot of time figuring out if they could remember me, and some did remembered and where more keen on approaching, they were totally conditioned by the fact that I used to give them some different kind of grain food. They even made the trip to the house about 30 meters away, just these few ones. Of course they probably remembered the food but I was still happy with my accomplishments in the field of human/chicken colaboration.

[dangle1]

After my wife convinced me to get chickens, I went from being ignorant and dismissive of chickens to loving having them in our backyard. It's impressive how distinctive their personalities are given the approx. 50 neurons they're working with in life.

It's like having toddler dinosaurs bumbling around and having little adventures for your entertainment.

[mosseater]

I know you are probably kidding about the 50 neurons, but Red Junglefowl (what chickens are derived from) are working with 221 million neurons. Which isn't that much in the grand scheme of things, but more than double the amount compared to a quail and about the same as a parrotlet or a brown rat.

[svachalek]

Yes, they do have very clear personalities. We had one who was very curious about people, just very interested in following you and seeing what you do. It's probably food related motivation, but more than simply seeking a handout as most of them do. You could really see the gears turning in there.

[dangle1]

And they love it when you do digging projects and come over next to you to see if there's anything good to eat.

[frosted-flakes]

This humorous children's short story comes to mind: Squabbling in the Vegatable Patch (it was an audiobook cassette tape). Contains lots of chicken antics revolving around exactly that.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=4YCQY4GwlBM&list=PLU8JDCV_35GGWW...

I still have the original cassette tape from when I was a child and still occasionally play it in my car radio (the only tape player I own).

[b3morales]

Befriending one of the more intelligent birds (jays, or crows) is also very entertaining, though they are still wild of course.

[SoftTalker]

Just don't betray their friendship, as they will not forget it.

[bstpierre]

And they will tell their friends and children too, apparently

[memling]

Related: Am I Liable for Murder if my Murder Attempts to Commit Murder[1]

[1] https://old.reddit.com/r/bestoflegaladvice/comments/ki9gb1/i...

[dylan604]

>50 neurons they're working with in life.

so approximtely 10x more than me on mondays before caffeine

[ekianjo]

you dont need bazillions of neurons to showcase complex behavior. also in humans a large part of our brain is to help us move on 2 legs and keep us balanced.