When I started writing How to Speak Chicken, it was important for me to discover if there was any science out there to back up what I was seeing in my backyard flock. I was astonished to discover that so many researchers were curious and fascinated in chickens just like me. I must admit, having a background as a nurse practitioner allowed me to decipher and translate and quantify the findings in many of these very scientifically written works. Here is a more comprehensive but not complete list of resources that I used to help validate what we all observe in the wonderful world of chickens. From a book first published in 1899 to modern times, you will see that chickens have captivated the minds of scientist for centuries.
Select Books:
Rogers, Lesley. The Development of the Brain and Behavior in the Chicken. Wallingford: CABI, 1995.
Webster, Richard. The Poultry Herald Manual: A Guide to Successful Poultry Keeping. St Paul: Webb Publishing Company, 1899.
Nichols, C. The Behavioral Biology of Chickens. Wallingford: CAB International, 2015.
Select Scientific Journals:
Collias, N. “The Vocal Repertoire of the Red Junglefowl: A Spectrographic Classification and the Code of Communication,” The Condor, 89 (1987): 510-524.
Wang, Y, Brzozowska-Prechtl and Karten, Harvey J. “Laminar and columnar auditory cortex in avian brain,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America Vol 107, No 28 (2010): 12676–12681, accessed September 25, 2016. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1006645107.
Jiao, Lau, T., Hatzikirou, H, Meyer-Hermann, M, Corbo, J and Torquato, S. “Avian photoreceptor patterns represent a disordered hyperuniform solution to a multiscale packing problem,” Physical Review E, 89 (2014), 022721, accessed September 17, 2016. doi:/10.1103/PhysRevE.89.022721.
Abeysinghe S, Nicol C, Hartnell S, and Wathes C “Can domestic fowl, Gallus gallus domesticus, show self-control? Animal Behaviour, 70 (2005), 1-11.
Rugani,R., Regolin,L. and Vallortigara,G. “Imprinted numbers: Newborn chicks’ sensitivity to number vs. continuous extent of objects they have been reared with,” Developmental Science, 13 (2010), 790-797. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2009.00936.x
Rugani,R., Regolin,L., and Vallortigara,G. “Rudimental numerical competence in 5-day-old domestic chicks (gallus gallus): identification of ordinal position,” Journal of Experimental Psychology-Animal Behavior Processes, 33 (2007), 21-31. doi: 10.1037/0097-7403.33.1.21
Rugani,R., Regolin,L. and Vallortigara,G. “Discrimination of small numerosities in young chicks,” Journal of Experimental Psychology Animal Behavior Processes, (2008), 34(3), 388-399. doi: 10.1037/0097-7403.34.3.388.
Online Resources:
“Hearing Ability of Poultry,” Extension, accessed September 3, 2016, http://articles.extension.org/pages/66178/hearing-ability-of-poultry.
“Sex Reversal in Chickens Kept in Small and Backyard Flocks,” Extension, accessed Sept 12, 2016, http://articles.extension.org/pages/65362/sex-reversal-in-chickens-kept-in-small-and-backyard-flocks.
“Normal Behaviors of Chickens in Small and Backyard Poultry Flocks,” Extension, accessed August 24, 2016, http://articles.extension.org/pages/66175/normal-behaviors-of-chickens-in-small-and-backyard-poultry-flocks.
“Tic-tac-toe winner gets more than chicken feed,” Las Vegas Sun, accessed October 18, 2016, http://lasvegassun.com/news/2002/aug/14/tic-tac-toe-winner-gets-more-than-chicken-feed/.
“ Chickens Worry About the Future,” ABC Science, accessed October 16, 2016, http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2005/07/15/1415178.htm
“Bird Brain? It May Be a Compliment,” The Dana Foundation, accessed September 6, 2016, http://www.dana.org/Cerebrum/2005/Bird_Brain__It_May_Be_A_Compliment!/.
“Scientist Look into Chicken Eye and Discover New State of Matter“ The Huffington Post, accessed September 28, 2016, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/26/chicken-eye-weird-state-of-matter_n_4854897.html.
“The Foundations of Empathy are Found in the Chicken,” The University of Bristol, School of Veterinary Sciences, accessed August 7, 2016, http://www.bristol.ac.uk/vetscience/news/2011/16.html.
Magazines:
Smith,Carolyn and Zielinski, Sarah, “ The Startling Intelligence of the Common Chicken,” Scientific American, February 2014, accessed October 4, 2016, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-startling-intelligence-of-the-common-chicken/.