Macquarie researchers cock of the walk

(PhysOrg.com) -- Macquarie University congratulates animal behaviour researchers Professor Chris Evans and Dr K-lynn Smith who were last night presented with the prestigious Australian Museum Eureka Prize for Scientific Research that Contributes to Animal Protection.

“Chickens are the most underestimated animals on the planet,” said Macquarie University postdoctoral researcher K-lynn Smith. “People think they are stupid and automatically respond to things; if there’s food, they eat; if they’re scared, they make a sound. This is not true. Their communications are sophisticated."

By using a 3D-animated rooster, Smith and Evans have been able to decipher the language of the hen house and have discovered that chickens do communicate with one another, and will even change messages based on which other birds are around.

Smith explains that when a rooster finds food, he will signal to a female by bobbing his head up and down repeatedly and make a distinctive call while picking up the food and dropping it, until the females comes over. But if a rival male is around the rooster will simply eat all the food himself.

The birds even have specific calls for predators such as hawks swooping down from the sky, as opposed to those sneaking along the ground as a fox does.

Their research shows that chickens are intelligent creatures that should not be kept in the grotesque conditions of battery farms. “We need to stop seeing chickens as egg-laying machines and change the conditions they live in,” said Smith.

The pair also plan to study the practice of trimming the beaks of chickens on commercial farms to see if this affects the birds’ interactions.

The Eureka Prizes are the premier science prizes in Australia presented annually by the Australian Museum and are worth more than $190,000. The prizes recognise excellence in the fields of scientific research and innovation, science leadership, science journalism and communication, and school science.

Provided by Macquarie University