Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1873-01-09
InstiGct in Chickens.

A chicken at the end of six minutes
after having it's eyes unveiled, followed
with its head the movements of fly
twelve inches distant at ten minutes,
the fly coming within reach of its neck
was seized and swallowed at the first
stroke; at the end of twenty minutes it
had not ATTEMPTED to walk step. 1t was
then placed on rongh ground within
sight and call of hen, with chickens of
its own age After standing chipping
for about minute, it went straight to-
ward the hen, displaying as keen a per
ception of the qualities of the outer
world as 1t was ever likely to possess in
after life. It never required to knock its
head against stone to discover there
was "no road that way" 1t leaped over
the smaller obstacles that lay in its path,
and ran around the larger, reaching the
mother in as near straight line as the
nature of the ground would permit. Thus
it would seem that, prior to experience,
the eye-at least the eye Of the chicken
perceives the primary qualities of the ex-
ternal world, all arguments of the purely
analytical school of psychology to the
contrary Notwithstanding.
Not less decisive were experiments on
hearing. Chickens hatched and kept in
in the light nine or ten feet from box in
which a brooding hen was concealed,
after standing chirping for minute or
two, uniformly set off straight to the box
in answer to the call of the hen which
they had never seen and never before
heard. This they did struggling through
hte grass and over rough ground, when
not able to stand steadily on their legs.
Again, chickens that from the first had
been denied the use Of their eyes by hav
ing hoods drawn over their heads while
yet in the shell, were while thus blind
made the subject of experiment. These.
when left to themselves, seldom made a
forward step; their movements were
round and round and back ward; but when
placed within five or six feet of the hen
mother, they, in answer to her call, be-
came much more lively, began to make
little forward journeys, and soon follow
ed her by sound alone, though, of course,
blindly. Another experiment consisted
in rendering chickens deaf for time
by sealing their ears with several folds of
gum paper before they had escaped from
the shell. These, on having their ears
opened when two Or three days old, and
being placed within call of the mother,
concealed in a box Or on the other side Of
ran straight to the spot whence came the
first sound they had ever heard. Clearly,
Of these chickens it cannot be said that
sounds were to them at first but meaning
less sensations.
One or two observations favorable to
the opinion that animals have an instinc-
tive knowledge of their enemies may be
taken for what they are worth. When
twelve days old one of my little proteges
running about beside me, gave the pecu-
liar chirp whereby they announce the APP
proach Of danger On looking up,
sparrow hawk was seen lowering at a
great height overhead. Again, a young
hawk was made to fly over hen with her
first brood of chickens, then about week
old In the twinkling of an eye most OF
the chickens were hid among grass and
bushes And scarcely had the hawk
touched the ground, about twelve yards
from where the hen had been sitting,
when she fell upon it, and would soon
have killed it outright. A young turkey
gave even more striking evidence. When
ten days old it heard the voice of the
hawk for the first time, and just beside
it. Like an arrow from the bow 1t dart
ed off in the opposite direction, and,
crouched in corner, remained for ten
minutes motionless and dumb with fear.
Out of a vast number of experiments with
chickens and bees, though the results
were not uniform, yet in the great major
ity of instances the chickens gave evidence
of instructive fear of these sting bearing
insects-From Paper Readbefo1'e the british
association.