This chicken rides the bus to school. Now it’s been declared world’s smartest

globalnews.ca:

A chicken living on Gabriola Island has set a new Guinness World Record, not for her size, or for laying the most eggs, but for her intelligence.

Lacey the chicken holds the new world record for the most identifications by a chicken in one minute.

Lacey’s owner, Emily Carrington, is a veterinarian and said chickens are a lot smarter than most people think.

The six hens are definitely not bird brains.

Carrington trained the group to peck on letters, colours and symbols that would get them a treat.

After more than a year of practice, Carrington decided they were ready to go for the record.

With two official timers, two different video angles and two witnesses on hand, the chickens were put through their paces.

Only one came out on top, completing a total of six tricks.

“Lacey was the one who got the most,” Carrington said. “She beat the other ones by one, so she’s got the record.”

“The tricks are fun to watch,” she added.

“Teaching them is actually very easy. They learn very quickly.”

Carrington is now in the process of launching her YouTube channel to share what she’s learned, hoping to show others raising chickens just how egg-strodinary they are.

“You know, they’re different from us,” she said. “They’re like us in some ways. Understand them and then, maybe we can be a little kinder to them. It’s quite amazing.”