Humans are often curious about animal intelligence, especially regarding common creatures like chickens. A frequent question is whether chickens can “do math,” which reveals surprising insights into their cognitive abilities.
Defining Numerical Competence
When considering if animals “do math,” the concept differs from human mathematical prowess. Animal numerical competence refers to abilities like quantity discrimination, the capacity to distinguish between different amounts of objects or events. This also includes understanding ordinal relationships, recognizing sequences such as “first” or “second.” Another aspect is subitizing, the immediate recognition of small quantities without counting. While complex algebra remains outside their scope, these foundational skills form the basis of mathematical understanding.
Evidence of Quantity Discrimination
Scientific research offers compelling evidence that chickens possess abilities related to quantity discrimination. Studies have shown newly hatched chicks can differentiate between various numbers of objects, consistently choosing the larger quantity. In experiments, chicks imprinted on small objects like plastic balls tracked quantities, navigating to the screen that concealed the greater number.
Chicks have also demonstrated rudimentary “addition” and “subtraction” skills in laboratory settings. For example, they can track objects as they are visibly added to or removed from a group behind a screen, then correctly choose the screen that ultimately holds more items. This suggests they are not just reacting to visual cues but are processing changes in quantity. Chicks also exhibit an understanding of ordinality, able to learn and identify a specific position in a sequence, such as the fourth item in a line. This indicates a surprising level of numerical processing in these birds.
Broader Cognitive Abilities
Beyond numerical skills, chickens exhibit a range of other cognitive abilities. They demonstrate self-control by waiting for a larger, delayed food reward rather than taking an immediate, smaller one. Chickens also display complex communication, using 24 to 30 distinct vocalizations to convey specific information.
Chickens are capable of problem-solving, navigating obstacles or manipulating objects to access food. They learn through observation, adapting their behavior based on what they see other chickens do. Chickens possess social and spatial memory, recognizing over 100 individual faces, including human ones. They remember resource locations, navigate effectively, and show object permanence (the understanding that an object still exists when out of sight). These diverse abilities highlight a complex intelligence often underestimated in chickens.