Spot of Understanding: Chicken heads

A chick figures out the number of objects behind the screen - Image from Science News

Apparently baby chicks are not just cute but also very smart – they can count! Young chickens, which are just a few days old display basic arithmetic skills according to researchers. Rosa Rugani of the University of Trento in Italy demonstrated the chicks’ ability to add and subtract by moving identical objects behind two screens in front of the chicks. Their task was to determine, which screen obscured the most number of objects and the chicks performed with flying colors.

Previously only adult animals have been found to have a basic understanding of mathematics but not in any young animals except humans. At least all those non – vegetarians who relish chickens will hopefully benefit from their brains.

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